Shift
by Sable Snow
Summary: Honey decides to have a sleepover, enticing the others to follow his lead. Haruhi doesn't know what's going on, but she intends to find out. HaruhiXHosts
1. Mitsukuni Haninozuka

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Ouran High School Host Club or its characters.

* * *

"No, Tamaki-senpai, I need to go home!" Haruhi was beyond frustrated by this point. She'd been stuck in club activities and then playing games with her club mates for hours and it was getting dark out. There were other things she needed to do and couldn't afford to spend all her time playing around.

"Pleeeeeeease Haruhi! You have to stay! We're all staying the night with Honey-senpai tonight, doesn't that sound fun?" Tamaki had jumped into the doorway, blocking her exit. He dropped to his knees and took her hands in his pleadingly.

"No, it doesn't. I need to go make dinner for my dad, move out of my way Tamaki-senpai."

Kyoya decided to chime in, tired of this argument. "Actually, you don't, Haruhi. I talked to Ranka a few hours ago to let him know where you were and he said it would be fine if you stayed."

"Yay, Haru-chan is staying!" Honey declared running over to pull her further into his room.

"Just because I _can_ doesn't mean that I _am_ ,"Haruhi clarified, almost wanting to take it back when Honey's face slackened into a frown. "I have other things to do, you know? I do have a life outside of you guys."

Tamaki looked scandalized. "What life? Who else are you spending time with, Haruhi!"

The twins jumped into the conversation then. Hikaru slid his arm around Tamaki's shoulder, comforting him. "I don't think she meant quite what you're thinking, boss. This is Haruhi, we're talking about."

"What-"

"Never mind that, Haruhi," Kaoru interrupted her, placing his arm around her shoulders and guiding her to the vacant couch. "Don't you want to stay for all the tasty food we'll be having later?"

She turned thoughtful, and the group knew that her arguments were finished. Kyoya decided to seal the deal so they could move on already. "You wouldn't want to miss out on the fancy tuna, would you?"

Haruhi's eyes widened and she looked over at Kyoya, sitting in his desk chair. "I guess I could stick around awhile longer..."

"Yay, Haru-chan is staying!" Honey repeated, throwing himself next to her on the couch.

Haruhi looked around expectantly. "So what are we doing now?"

"More games!" suggested Tamaki.

"Let's eat cake!" Honey proposed again.

"Dinner first?" Mori voiced.

"Let's watch a movie!" Kaoru yelled.

"Oh a scaaaary movie! Dibs on sitting next to Haruhi!" Hikaru agreed. He immediately fell onto the couch with her, intent on his idea.

Haruhi looked at Kyoya, expecting him to have an opinion too. "Don't look at me, it's up to you Haruhi."

Haruhi sighed. "Okay, movie sounds good first, you guys should pick it though." Then, deciding to keep things fair, she slid slightly away from Hikaru. "And I'll take turns sitting next to anyone who wants to."

She got up and helped rearrange the furniture for their viewing pleasure. Everything needed to face the television, and the coffee table had to be moved against the wall. This left space in the middle of the floor for people to lay down. Meanwhile the twins chose a horror film Haruhi had never heard of, but it didn't matter to her. She probably wouldn't pay very much attention to it anyway.

As silly as it was, Hikaru had called dibs, and Haruhi decided to honor that. The twins settled on the couch as the movie started, sharing a bowl of popcorn. They rushed to make space between them when they noticed Haruhi's approach, and then squeezed in to remove any remaining space when she was settled in.

"It's a good thing you picked us first, Haruhi. This movie is super scary in the beginning." Kaoru punctuated his warning with flailing fingers and wide eyes, only making Haruhi laugh.

"No worries though, we're here to protect you from all the scary monsters, so don't hesitate to cuddle up to us!" Hikaru showed his meaning by trying to further squish into her, and laying his head on her shoulder.

Haruhi rolled her eyes at them. "Man, you guys make me feel so safe here I don't think there's even a chance of me getting scared now! But thanks for the offer." She smiled as they looked at each other, frowning at being shot down.

Kaoru decided on a different approach. "Here, Haruhi." He handed the popcorn bowl to her. "You have to hold it since you're in the middle."

"Sure." It was only logical.

The movie had started while they talked, and Haruhi tried to pay attention but it wasn't possible with the twins on either side of her. She wasn't a big fan of popcorn, but the few times she reached into the bowl one of their hands just happened to always be there too. When she wasn't reaching in, they were busy spilling popcorn all over her, and then reaching into her lap to retrieve the mess.

"Hey that tickles!" She laughed as Hikaru tried to find his latest dropped piece. "Just watch the movie!"

He pulled his hand away with an innocent shrug and Haruhi saw him give a suspicious amount of focus to the movie. While she was watching Hikaru, Kaoru was patiently waiting. He waited for something in the movie to pop out, and with the loud change in music he attacked Haruhi, trying to scare her. He grabbed both of her sides, fingers acting like claws, and growled.

Hikaru was ready. He turned to Haruhi, arms open wide and pulled her into a crushing hug. "Don't worry Haruhi, I'll protect you!"

Her laughter rang out, muffled by Hikaru's chest. She tried to stifle it as she pushed herself back into a sitting position, not wanting to disturb the others. "You really don't know me well if you thought that would scare me!" Haruhi took a deep breath, pulling herself together. "Anyway, time's up Hikaru, Kaoru. Thanks for the laugh!"

They frowned again as she stood up and walked away. It hadn't been enough time, but then again, they knew it never would be.

Kyoya was Haruhi's next target, and he was alone on the loveseat. He had his laptop out and was typing away, hardly glancing at the movie. She lowered herself down softly next to him, and he only looked at her through his peripherals.

"You don't have to do this. The others look much more eager for a piece of your time." Kyoya nodded his head subtly towards Tamaki who kept stealing glances at Haruhi.

Haruhi didn't follow the direction he was looking but instead stared straight at him. "You're right, I don't have to," she answered simply. She then settled back into the couch, content to watch the movie.

Kyoya stiffened at her answer, fingers frozen above his keyboard. After a moment he closed the laptop altogether and matched Haruhi's posture to watch the movie. He only lasted a few minutes.

"How can you watch this?" Kyoya asked as horribly fake blood spattered across the screen.

"I'm not really. This type of thing isn't my cup of tea, but the others wanted to watch it so I have to at least try." Haruhi's gaze never left the screen, but Kyoya was now solely watching her, as it was infinitely more interesting than the movie. One of her eyebrows would rise when some remarkably stupid dialogue came on, and she'd smile at all the jump scares.

Eventually her focus shifted back to him openly staring at her. "We can talk if you want. What were you working on?"

Kyoya had to think for a moment, having completely forgotten about his laptop abandoned on the side table. "Just going over some of the club's finances. What kind of movies _do_ you like?"

The question surprised Haruhi. That wasn't the type of thing Kyoya usually cared about. "Comedy if I have to pick, but I don't really like movies in general. They're fake and pointless. Life has enough drama and horrors and such without taking on the extra baggage from characters someone pulled out of their imagination. I don't have time for that." Haruhi shrugged.

Kyoya nodded his understanding. "I'd have to agree."

A few more minutes of silently watching the movie passed before Kyoya spoke up again. "Haruhi why are you covered in popcorn?" He knew why; they all knew why. Each of them were watching every move she made and trying to hear everything she said. It's what they always did.

"Oh, Hikaru and Kaoru pretty much dumped the bowl on me. I should go get cleaned up."

She stood and so did he. Haruhi looked at him questioningly. "I'll come too. I asked Ranka for some of your clothes. You didn't exactly have the chance to pack your pajamas."

He was right, and Haruhi wasn't sure if she should be more thankful for his thoughtfulness, or angry at how far ahead they had apparently planned this little sleepover. Kyoya led Haruhi out of the room with his hand on the small of her back. They only traveled a few doors down the hall to a bathroom. "They're laying on the counter there," he waved his hand in the direction of the clothes. "You can change in here, no one will bother you." He turned to leave.

"Thank you, Kyoya-senpai." Haruhi smiled and Kyoya answered with a nod, closing the doors as he left.

When Haruhi arrived back in Honey's room wearing a colorful pajama set she didn't fail to notice that the guys had all changed as well. The movie was still playing and Haruhi went back over to Kyoya. She placed a hand on his shoulder to support herself as she leaned down to whisper "I'm sorry to cut your time short senpai, but-."

"I know, Haruhi. Changing took some time away, it's fine." Kyoya shifted back into business mode, retrieving his laptop from the table. Haruhi sent him a sad smile as she left to join Tamaki.

He was in the middle of the floor in a pile of blankets and propped up against several pillows.

"Haruhi! Come join your father!" He lifted the blankets up so she could climb under. She crawled over to him and lay down. Tamaki's eyes were darting between her and the movie for a while before finally settling on Haruhi. "I'm so glad you stayed, Haruhi! Are you having fun?"

She looked over at him and smiled. "Yeah I guess so. This isn't as bad as it could be."

All Tamaki seemed to hear was "yeah" because his face lit up with glee. "Good! I knew you'd have fun. You really should listen to me more often, Haruhi! Father knows best!"

"Sure, Tamaki-senpai." Her attention returned to the movie until Tamaki slipped his hand into hers. She looked over, her eyes asking the question for her.

"So you won't get scared," he answered.

Haruhi smiled. "Thanks." It was sweet of him, if not at all necessary, so she allowed the contact. They remained that way for the rest of Tamaki's turn with Haruhi.

Eventually, Haruhi had to say her farewells to Tamaki and slipped out of his pile of blankets.

It was Mori and Honey's turn next, but Haruhi wasn't sure what to do. Mori was comfortably reclined in a chair, with Honey in his lap. There wasn't room on the chair for her to join, and she hated to ask them to relocate while they were so engrossed in the movie.

As she drew up next to them Honey looked up, smiling. "Can I sit in your lap Haru-chan?" he asked. "That's better than sitting next to you."

She agreed and Mori started to rise so she could take his seat, but Haruhi held her hand out to stop him. She had an idea. Haruhi sat down on the ground in front of Mori, nudging his legs apart. She was then able to lean comfortable against the chair between his legs, with her own legs crossed. Haruhi glanced back up at Mori for confirmation. "Is this okay?" She didn't want to deprive him of his turn with her, and was happy when he nodded his agreement. Then she looked expectantly at Honey who happily flopped into her lap.

As the movie continued something jumped out at the main characters, causing Honey to jump too. He gave a quiet squeak of surprise and reached down to grab her right arm. He pulled it into his own lap and squeezed it. A few scary scenes later he was cutting off her circulation and had half turned into her chest in an effort to hide from the movie.

She decided to bring her other arm up around him too, wrapping him safely in a hug. "Don't worry Honey-senpai, it's just a movie. Nothing is going to hurt us."

Honey just squeaked and jumped a bit in response, having been scared yet again. Haruhi smiled and held on tighter.

Haruhi was fairly sure the movie was nearly over when she noticed the others joining them. Hikaru sat down on her right, legs spread open for Kaoru to plop down in front of him and lean into his brother. Kyoya sat on her other side, knees lifted so he could lean forward to rest his arms on them. Finally, Tamaki came and settled in front of them. He lay down on his side using his arm to prop up his head to continue watching the movie.

Haruhi smiled at the way the group had come together. Right then, she was happy she had decided to stay.

When the movie ended they all stood up to stretch.

"Time for cake!" Honey declared.

"Dinner time," Mori translated. They all followed Honey as he marched to the dinning area where a table full of food was waiting for them. One end held nothing but desserts and Honey claimed that section of the table for himself.

"Come sit next to me, Haruhi! I'll let you have some cake too!"

Haruhi joined him, not honestly caring where she sat. She loaded her plate up with normal foods and left the sweets to Honey. The club members sat around talking and laughing as they filled their stomachs. Everyone was in a good mood.

Honey was especially happy as he dug into his third cake. "Haru-chan try this! It's so yummy!" He held a fork out towards her with a small bite on it and, not thinking anything of it, she leaned forward to wrap her mouth around it. The other five boys had frozen at Honey's actions and were just watching Haruhi now, surprised she would eat off his fork.

"Mm that is good!" Haruhi was glad to have tried it. "You you all should try-" she stopped mid sentence as she turned to the others. They were all staring at her. "What's wrong? Did I get frosting on my face?" Haruhi reached up to wipe her mouth, just in case.

"Don't mind them, Haru-chan! They're probably just jealous that I'm only sharing my cake with you!" Haruhi didn't miss the look that Honey sent the others.

"Haha, yeah, that's what we're jealous of sen-Ow!" Kaoru kicked his brother under the table mid-sentence.

"There goes clumsy Hikaru again, hitting his foot on a table leg," Tamaki tried to cover.

"Haha, clumsy Hikaru," Kaoru joined in.

"Well as we were saying before our, hem _jealousy_ , got the better of us, explain more about your idea for a futuristic day for our clients, Tamaki." Kyoya wanted to get everyone back to talking normally as quickly as possible.

Haruhi slowly turned back to her food as everyone joined back in the conversation. A few minutes later, Honey repeated his offer of cake with his newest conquest. "Here Haru-chan, this one's even better!"

Haruhi leaned forward for the second time, noticing the conversation begin to wane. She paused, giving the others a sidelong glance, causing them to immediately start talking faster. Haruhi quickly tried the offered cake and sat back in her chair to chew.

"You're right, Honey-senpai, that cake _is_ better!" Honey seemed to glow at her praise and went back to his sweets.

When he then tried to offer Haruhi a third bite, Haruhi had to decline. "Here senpai, why don't you try something other than sweets. These noodles are really tasty." She held a bite out for him as he had for her and Honey smiled.

"Sure, Haru-chan." He tried the offered food and chewed quickly. "It was good, thank you! But I think I'll stick with my cakes!" Haruhi couldn't say she was surprised, but at least she succeeded in getting a bite of normal food in him.

They ate until everyone was full and then returned to Honey's room.

"Time for more games!" Tamaki's announcement forced a groan out of Hikaru.

"Let us digest a bit before we start running around more, boss."

"Plenty of games call for sitting in place! We could play just about any card game, or talking game, or hmm," Tamaki trailed off thinking of what else they could do.

"Homework is a stationary past time. How about we do that?" Haruhi said it mostly as a joke but her friends were exchanging looks at her suggestion.

"I do have a lot of work I need to do," Kyoya agreed.

"We could work on our history homework together, Haruhi!" The twins said simutaniously, getting on board with the idea.

"History? I'm great at history so I'll help!" Honey made his way over to the youngest members of the club.

Tamaki shrugged. "I guess I do have a paper to write."

Mori nodded as he pulled out a textbook to join the others.

Haruhi was pleasantly surprised. Everyone was actually working, and quietly at that. Honey was helping as offered, and even the twins were laying off their jokes. Haruhi went with it for awhile, happy to be finally getting some work done, but less than an hour later she couldn't take it anymore. When this group was silent and behaved for this long, something was definitely up.

She looked at each of her friends, trying to find some hint of what they were planning. There was no exchange of scheming looks, or homework being folded into paper air planes. Hikaru was clarifying something with Honey, and Tamaki was using Kyoya as a fact checker.

"Okay, enough!" Haruhi slammed her pen down on the table and every eye in the room spun to look at her. "What the hell is going on here?"

"What do you mean, Haru-chan?" Honey was looking up at her innocently, like he didn't have the faintest idea what Haruhi could mean. She wasn't buying it.

"I _mean_ , look at you guys!" She held her hands out to encompass them all. Quizzical looks were sent every direction as the others obliged and looked around. "No, ugh! I didn't mean literally _look_! I mean, what are you planning?"

"Well I was planning on finishing this assignment, but if you want to do something else, Haruhi…?" Kaoru held up a half finished worksheet as proof of his intentions.

"I don't buy it. Nope, no way. I'm not that stupid! None of you sit around doing homework! You scheme and you plot and you plan. You're always out having fun or going on an adventure or just _playing around!_ Now just tell me _what_ the current scheme is already so we can get on with it!"

Hikaru and Kaoru turned towards Tamaki, now wondering if they were missing out on some plan as well. He shrugged at them and shook his head.

"Kyoya, am I forgetting something?" Tamaki asked, knowing he wasn't exactly the most reliable of the group.

"No, there's nothing planned right now, though we do need to go over more details for the African Safari event for the club before Monday."

They all turned to Honey then, as this was his house and maybe _he_ had some sort of plan. Honey frowned and turned to Haruhi. "Haru-chan, no one is scheming anything. We're all just doing homework."

"But you _never_ do homework!" Haruhi was sure of it.

"Well that's a bit ignorant of you, Haruhi. Do you really think we'd all be at or near the top of our class if we never did any homework?" What Kyoya said made sense, Haruhi had to admit, but she was still skeptical and it showed.

"Haru-chan...you always leave us as soon as club activities are over or right after we finish an event. You say you have things to do. We don't just keep playing around after you leave; it's not nearly as fun. And, _we_ all have things to do too. We all have family obligations, and Takashi and I teach martial arts classes. We're all busy. So when we have the chance, we all stay together to do homework, because that's what friends do." Honey paused to look at the others who were nodding their support. "You've never asked us to work before, or you'd know. We figured you would rather do it on your own."

Haruhi couldn't believe her ears. Honey looked so sad having to explain something he found so basic, and Haruhi felt horrible. She looked down at her work not sure what to say. She'd been so _sure_ that they were up to something, and now she just looked like an idiot.

"I'm sorry everyone. I didn't know. I just thought..." She didn't know how to complete her sentence aloud. She thought they were all a bunch of slackers who only wanted to have a good time. Well, not all of them individually maybe, but definitely when they were together.

"It's okay, Haru-chan, we know what you thought."

His sad smile still adorned his face and Haruhi couldn't stand it. She jumped up to wrap Honey in a tight hug, and he was quick to return her embrace. "I'm so sorry, senpai. I'll be better now that I know, okay? I'll stick around longer and work with you all. Please don't be sad anymore."

"We'll hold you to that Ha-ru-hi!" Hikaru said in a singsong voice. He was sharing a devilish smile with Kaoru as Haruhi let go of Honey.

"But for now, if you don't want us to be sad then it's time for another game!"

"Damn." Haruhi now completely regretted speaking up. Not only had she made everyone sad by throwing accusations around, but she'd ruined a perfect opportunity for her to catch up on her homework.

"Sounds good to me! What do you have in mind?" Tamaki was quick to jump on board as always.

"Hold on a second!" Haruhi didn't know what the twins wanted to play, but she didn't particularly want to find out either. She had an idea that she hoped would wind up less hectic than whatever Hikaru and Kaoru wanted. "How about Honey-senpai picks? It's his house after all."

Hikaru and Kaoru deflated, knowing that the group would do exactly that now that Haruhi had suggested it. Everyone looked over at Honey who smiled wide at Haruhi. "That's a great idea, Haru-chan! Let's play musical cakes!" Honey skipped out of his room and lead the group back to the dining room.

"What's musical cakes, Honey-senpai?" Haruhi was already regretting letting him pick.

"It's just like musical chairs, but with cakes!" He clapped his hands and a maid brought 6 pieces of cake out to the table. "Some music will play and we'll all walk around the table. When it stops everyone has to rush for a piece of cake! Whoever doesn't get some cake is out, and we start again. In the end we'll have the ultimate cake champion!" Honey was laughing, imagining anyone but himself winning.

"That sounds amazing! You're going down Honey-senpai!" Tamaki was getting fired up, and his enthusiasm was contagious.

They all took up positions around the table, Honey in front of Haruhi who led Mori, followed by Hikaru, Tamaki, Kaoru, and then Kyoya bringing them full circle. The music started playing, though Haruhi really wasn't sure of the source, and they started marching around the table (more like dancing in Honey's case.) When it stopped, there was a mad dash for the cakes. Honey was, of course, the first to grab some and stuff it into his mouth, smiling as he chewed. Hikaru would've been next but Tamaki tripped him up to get there first. Kaoru had it easy, as he'd been directly next to a piece when the music stopped. A piece was evenly spaced between Haruhi and Mori, but being the gentleman, Mori dived for a further piece, allowing Haruhi to take the closer one. Hikaru grabbed the last, glaring at Tamaki the whole time, leaving Kyoya with nothing.

"Oh no, I seem to have lost. I guess I'm out then." Kyoya's monotone wasn't fooling anyone. He took a chair to a corner of the room out of the way of the game, and pulled out his laptop. Haruhi realized he must've been planning on losing if he knew to bring it with him.

Back at the table the cake plates were being taken away and replaced with five pieces of pie, causing Haruhi to quirk an eyebrow. "I thought this was musical _cakes_ , senpai."

"Oh, did I say cakes? Well I meant musical _sweets!_ "

Haruhi rolled her eyes, and started marching again as soon as the music started. They were in the same order, but no one was prepared for how quick the music stopped this time. They'd each taken about three steps before coming to an abrupt halt. In the confusion Tamaki failed to get any of the pieces near him, as did Haruhi. They both ran for the far piece of pie, but Hikaru tripped Tamaki on the way and down he want.

"Oops!" Hikaru laughed. "How clumsy of me to pick the worst possible time to pay you back!"

Haruhi grabbed the pie piece and shoved it in her mouth, not having noticed her sizable lead against Tamaki. He went to join Kyoya in the corner, sulking.

For the third round, four brownies appeared on the table. The music started and the group began walking. They walked and walked and then walked some more.

"Oh come on!" Hikaru's impatience got the better of him. His exclamation slowed his reaction time to the coincidental stopping of music, and he failed to reach a brownie in time.

He went to the corner, cursing the whole way, as three cupcakes were arranged on the table. With the group cut in half there was plenty of space between each person when the music started again. They all tried to linger near a cupcake as long as possible before rushing ahead to be near the next closest dessert. When the music stopped, Haruhi was on a table end with a cupcake which she was quick to grab. Honey and Mori were on opposite sides of the table, both in the middle. Honey's quick reflexes won him that cupcake, forcing Mori to dive across the table to the end farthest from Haruhi in an attempt to get the cupcake in front of Kaoru. He failed to make it in time, and slumped off to the corner.

Two chocolate-covered strawberries were on the table as the next round began. It was another short round and Haruhi counted herself lucky as she once again ended up directly next to one of the desserts. Kaoru didn't even have a chance at the other one, as Honey seemed able to just appear wherever a dessert was.

"Just you and me now, Haru-chan!" Honey sounded like he couldn't have been happier at the outcome.

A single cookie was brought out for the final round and placed dead center on the table. The two remaining competitors faced each other across the table and waited for the music. It began and so did they, sprinting the lengths of the table and then slowing back down every time they neared the middle and the waiting cookie. Haruhi knew she wouldn't have a chance if this continued long, as she didn't have near the endurance that Honey had, but luck was on her side again. She'd only made two rotations around the table when the music came to an abrupt halt and she happened to be just an arms reach away from the cookie. Haruhi grabbed it and shoved it into her mouth, half of it forced to stick out when it didn't fit. Honey, on the opposite side of the table hadn't been as close, but he jumped up and placed his hands on the table, using them to vault himself to the other side where Haruhi thought she had just won. He landed quickly, opened his mouth wide and went for the cookie sticking out of Haruhi's mouth. His lips closed around it and he bit his half away from Haruhi's, giving her a quick kiss before pulling away completely.

The spectators in the corner were all wide-eyed, not believing what they'd just seen their oldest member do. Tamaki stood up, fuming, and having every intention of telling Honey off. Kyoya reached up to grab his arm, effectively stopping him. He had been the first to notice what everyone else was starting to catch onto. Haruhi was _laughing_!

"Haha senpai!" She couldn't get a full sentence out, breaking into fits of laughter every few words. "I can't believe, hahaha, you just _le_ _a_ _pt_ , ha! The table! Haha you didn't have to steal my cookie senpai! Haha knowing you there's plenty more in the kitchen! But I think after that you definitely deserve to be crowned Musical Cake Champion! Oh! I mean sweets!"

Her laughter was infectious, and one by one the others found themselves joining Haruhi. Honey wore a huge grin, glad not only that he had won, but that Haruhi apparently didn't mind the kiss. He was sure he'd hear it from the others later, though.

Haruhi had to be guided back to Honey's room, to busy cracking up to be able to walk straight. Having arrived safely they left her to her own devices, and she managed to almost immediately trip over a pillow Tamaki had used during the movie, sending her sprawling to the ground. She reached out in a panic and managed to latch on to Honey as she fell, bringing him right down with her. This renewed her laughter and had the others starting again too.

"If you wanted to cuddle, Haru-chan, all you had to do was ask!" Honey managed to roll Haruhi onto her side and slid up behind her. He wrapped an arm around her waist. "You can be my Usa-chan for the night!"

She tried to calm her laughing down, and was now just chuckling silently. Honey couldn't stop smiling as her body continued to vibrate.

The others looked on, unsure of how to proceed. They half wanted to throttle Honey for his actions, and half wanted to thank him for being the cause of so much laughter. They didn't get to listen to Haruhi's laugh nearly enough, after all.

Kyoya finally broke the silence. "Tamaki, didn't you mention wanting to sleep as a group on the floor, to make this sleepover more...authentic?"

Tamaki could've hugged Kyoya then. He always knew what to do and had reminded them of a way to make Honey's actions much more innocent.

"You're right! Everyone, dog pile on Haruhi and Honey-senpai!"

They all jumped at the excuse to join Haruhi on the floor and were soon sprawled in a tangle of limbs. Haruhi laughed louder, and everyone else smiled.

They all slid apart, finding space to sleep in the bundle of pillows and blankets. Honey had been forced to end his spooning of Haruhi but was glad when she reached for his hand, keeping them from being separated. Tamaki had claimed Haruhi's other side and was curled into a ball looking at her.

After they were all comfortable and Haruhi's laughter finally died down, they talked. They joked and shared stories, continuing to laugh late into the night. Even Haruhi joined in, shocked at how much fun she was having with these goofballs.

All in all, Haruhi was glad she stayed.


	2. Tamaki Suoh

Tired of card games, Haruhi stood up from the table and grabbed her school bag. "Time for me to go. I'll see you at school Monday." She turned to leave and was stopped as Tamaki jumped out of his chair to grab onto her.

"What!? You can't leave Haruhi! This is a sleepover; you have to stay the whole night with us!"

"What, again? We just did this!"

"That was two whole weeks ago!" Hikaru was quick to defend the gathering.

"And that was at _Honey_ -senpai's house! It's completely different!" Tamaki explained.

"How is it different, Tamaki-senpai? We're all together and you want us to all spend the night. Sounds exactly the same to me." Haruhi managed to take a few more steps towards the door.

"But this is _my_ house! There's way different things we can do here than at Honey-senpai's house!" Tamaki was frantic to make her stay.

"Haru-chan didn't you have fun at my sleepover?" Honey went for a guilt trip with wide eyes and a frown. Haruhi could've sworn he was going to cry.

Haruhi sighed and looked at their smallest member. "I did, Honey-senpai. It was a lot of fun and I'd love to do it again some time, but right now I need to go." She turned away from them and walked out of Tamaki's room.

Haruhi was nearly free when a voice stopped her in the foyer. "Haruhi."

She knew who it was and turned around to find out what he wanted. Had it been Tamaki or one of the twins she wouldn't have bothered. They would've just begged more.

Kyoya had followed her, knowing exactly how to manipulate her into staying. "Stay as a host. There are six of us meaning I'll decrease your debt by 6 people if you remain with us tonight."

Haruhi was shocked. Be host to the hosts? Why would they even want that? "You want me to dress up and pay you all compliments and make sure you always have a drink and snacks?"

Kyoya lowered his head and pushed his glasses up. He wanted to roll his eyes; Haruhi could certainly be dense. "No, you don't have to be the same kind of host as we are to the ladies. You just have to stay and keep us entertained." He watched her think about it, but Kyoya knew he had won when she didn't immediately turn him down.

"Why is this so important, Kyoya-senpai? Why does everyone want me to stay? They'll see me again in a couple days at school, or even sooner, knowing them."

She raised a valid point. "That is true," Kyoya acknowledged, buying himself a few seconds to figure out the best answer. "They just want quality time as a group. During club activities all of your attention is on our guests, so they'd like some time with your attention on them."

"And you, senpai? You managed to leave yourself out completely." She could be dense, but when she wanted to be, Haruhi was quite perceptive.

"Yes, well it doesn't matter to me if you stay or go. If you really must leave then it doesn't change how my night goes."

"That's a lie." Kyoya was shocked at her deduction, but only raised his eyebrows slightly, questioning her reasoning. "If it doesn't matter to you, you wouldn't be offering to lower my debt. That would just be a total loss for you, and you don't do anything without gaining something, right?"

Kyoya smiled ever so slightly, continually intrigued by their female host. "Indeed."

"Okay," Haruhi decided, walking back the way they'd come. "I'll stay." Before she rounded a corner she looked back at Kyoya still standing there and smiled. "And senpai? I want it rounded up to ten!"

She didn't see the little chuckle Kyoya gave as she headed back to her friends. When Haruhi opened Tamaki's bedroom door she was surprised by what she found. Mori, stretched out on Tamaki's bed, was staring at the ceiling. Hikaru was halfway laying on the couch, half slouched over the arm of it, his arms dangling to the ground. Kaoru was slumped in a chair, looking completely defeated. Honey was sitting cross legged in front of the coffee table, frowning and sighing between each slow bite of cake. Most ridiculously, Tamaki had collapsed face down on the floor where he'd been begging Haruhi and seemed to be wallowing.

"What the hell are you guys doing?" She demanded, causing everyone to jump and look towards the door. "You were all bouncing off the walls not 5 minutes ago!"

"HARUHI!" came their collective response. Hikaru, Kaoru, Honey, and Tamaki all ran towards her and enveloped her in a group hug. Mori stood back some, giving her a nod when she looked in his direction.

"Are you actually back, Haru-chan? Are you staying?" Honey was sure she must be, but they all needed to hear it.

"Only if you don't suffocate me!" Contrary to her intentions, that just made them squeeze harder out of excitement.

"Now that is settled, will you all move yourselves out of the doorway?" Kyoya asked, finally rejoining them.

The strength of their grip on Haruhi lessened, but none of them were willing to let go. Instead, they slowly shuffled towards the couch together.

"Guys this is ridiculous! I'm going to be here all night so let go already!"

"Okay, Haru-chan! We'll just hug you again later!" Honey was cheerful as ever in divulging his plan, but Haruhi was just glad it got the others to release her.

She sat down on the couch and looked at Tamaki expectantly. "So, what now? Your house, you pick."

His smile grew as he declared, "Truth or Dare!"

Tamaki hurried everyone into a circle on the floor and placed a bottle in the center. "So I'll spin first because it's my house. Whoever it lands on has to take a truth or dare from the spinner and after they complete it it's their turn to spin!"

Without further ado, Tamaki gave the bottle a quick spin. It came to rest pointing squarely at Mori.

"Aha! Mori-senpai, truth or dare?"

"Dare."

"Oho, courageous! Okay then I dare you to sing us a song!" Tamaki felt like he was winning something forcing such a quiet person into song.

Mori only paused for a moment to think of a song. "Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday dear no one, happy birthday to you." His voice was monotone the whole way through, but no one was about to argue the semantics of "sing".

"Ah no fair! That was too short of a song!" Tamaki demanded a do-over, but Mori was quick to deny him.

"You should've clarified." He gave the bottle a spin to move the game along, and it landed between the twins. Hikaru was quick to stick his foot into the circle and nudge the bottle so it pointed at his brother ("Hey!") and smiled. Mori looked at Kaoru to ask "Truth or dare?"

Kaoru, still grumbling, picked dare as well.

"Go steal something from the Suoh's head of staff."

"What! Are you crazy? She'll bite my head off if she catches me!"

"Don't get caught."

"Easy for you to say." With a sigh, Kaoru stood and left the room.

"Do you think he'll be able to do it?" Kyoya asked Tamaki.

Tamaki laughed in response. "Not a chance! Shima has eyes everywhere!"

"Maybe I should go help him..." Hikaru was worried what the old house keeper would do if she found Kaoru.

"No way, Hika-chan! This is Kao-chan's dare so he has to do it!"

It wasn't long before Kaoru came running back into the room, slamming the door behind him. He proudly held up a hair barrette. "It's what she usually has holding her hair up!"

"Hide it, quick!" Tamaki cautioned. "She'll come looking for it and you'll regret it if she finds you with it!"

Kaoru slipped it into his pocket and rejoined the circle, finally taking his turn to spin the bottle. It landed on Kyoya, who didn't even wait to be given a choice.

"Dare."

Kaoru's smile lit up his face. He slipped the barrette back out of his pocket and held it up for Kyoya. "I dare you to take this back to Shima, and you can't mention who took it!"

Kyoya's glasses flashed as he adjusted them, but he stood up without a word, snatching the barrette from Kaoru's hand. He was only gone a few minutes, but came back with an innocent smile on his face.

"What did you say?" Kaoru asked, slightly worried by Kyoya's expression.

"Oh just something about you having been fortunate to _come across_ her barrette and asking me to deliver it safely back to her. She asked me to inform you that she would be keeping her eye on you."

"I said you couldn't tell her I stole it!"

"Which is why I implied that you simply _found_ it."

Kaoru groaned, knowing he had been defeated. Kyoya took his turn spinning the bottle and it landed on Tamaki.

"Yes! I want a dare!"

"I dare you to tell Haruhi why we're all here today."

"That's basically a truth though! Come on give me a real dare!"

"I don't know boss, sounds fair to me. He used the word 'dare' and everything." Kaoru was quick to Kyoya's rescue.

"Fine, doesn't matter, it's not a hard question."

Haruhi had watched the exchange, curious what Kyoya meant. Weren't they all here for a sleepover?

"Haruhi, we're all here at my estate today to have a sleepover. After Honey-senpai's sleepover we decided we should each take a turn hosting one, as that's the only way to be completely fair. Today is my turn." Tamaki turned to Kyoya and smiled. Kyoya should've been more specific in what he was daring Tamaki to say, and Tamaki had taken full advantage of Kyoya's vagueness. But Haruhi wasn't blind. She knew she was missing something that everyone else was apparently in on, and she _would_ find out what.

"My turn again!" Tamaki spun the bottle and was ecstatic when it landed on Haruhi. "Well, Haruhi, truth or dare?"

"I'll take dare."

"Oh." That momentarily stumped Tamaki, as he was so sure she'd pick truth and had a question ready for her. He pulled himself back together as an idea formed, and his smile returned. Haruhi saw the expression and began to worry. He was definitely up to no good.

"I dare you to sit on my lap for the rest of the game!"

Hikaru almost jumped up, only barely stopped by Kaoru. They were both glaring at Tamaki, not expecting such an act out of him.

Haruhi, on the other hand, looked relieved. "Sure, easy." She rose from her place in the circle and went to sit in Tamaki's lap. When she reached forward for the bottle she noticed the looks on the rest of her friend's faces. Hikaru and Kaoru were angry, Honey almost seemed sad, Mori was looking down and Kyoya had adjusted his glasses, allowing a glare to hide his eyes..

"Uh, everything alright, guys?" Her eyes shifted between them, waiting for an answer that didn't come.

"Oh, don't mind them, Haruhi! Go ahead and spin!" Tamaki encouraged her to continue, wrapping his arms around her middle to stabilize her as she leaned forward in his lap.

She spun the bottle. Everyone's gaze returned to the middle as it glided across the carpet, interested in what dare or question Haruhi would be giving. Tamaki didn't bother to let go as she sat upright.

"Dare," Hikaru declared when the bottle stopped on him.

Haruhi laughed. "As much as everyone's picking dare you would think we all have something to hide!" The others looked around guiltily.

"Let's see, Hikaru… I dare you to….ugh, I'm not good at this. Oh wait, Hikaru come over here!" He did as he was told and she whispered the dare into his ear.

"You're going to get me killed!" He whispered loudly back so everyone heard.

"What was your dare, Hikaru?" Kaoru asked

"Oh you'll see shortly, don't worry." Hikaru stood up and shook his limbs out, jumping from foot to foot. He looked like he was warming up for something physical, making Haruhi chuckle. The oldest twin started walking around the gathered group members. "I would just like to apologize in advanced to the affected party. Keep in mind that I didn't choose this!" As he continued walking he knelt down first behind Mori and whispered something into his ear. He stood up and continued walking, eventually stopping by Honey and doing the same.

The others watched on, completely confused, and Haruhi laughed. This wasn't part of her dare at all but she was pretty sure she knew exactly what he was doing. Hikaru was faking them out. By kneeling next to multiple people first, he was creating a false expectation so that when he knelt down to carry out the dare, no one would suspect a thing until it was too late.

Finally, Hikaru knelt down again, this time behind Kyoya. He leaned into his right ear and quietly said, "I'm sorry."

Kyoya turned towards him, worried at what came next, and fell straight into Hikaru's trap. His tongue was out and when Kyoya turned he licked from the bottom of Kyoya's cheek to the top. It was so unexpected that Kyoya froze as everyone around him laughed. He slowly turned to glare at a Hikaru who had wasted no time in retreating from Kyoya. Hikaru shrugged as if he wasn't to blame.

Kyoya's eyes narrowed at Haruhi and she laughed more. "Why must you drag me into this?"

"Sorry Kyoya-senpai, that's all I could think of!"

After Hikaru reclaimed his seat his spin pointed to Honey. "Finally! I'll take truth. _I_ don't have anything to hide!"

"Honey-senpai, what was your favorite part of your sleepover?"

Honey smiled as he cheerily gave his answer. "That's easy! Kissing Haru-chan as I stole the cookie from her mouth was definitely the best part! Oh and you know Haru-chan, you can call me Mitsukuni if you want. You're too formal for someone you've kissed!"

Haruhi was shocked by the admission and the offer. At the time, she had thought Honey's – rather, Mitskuni's – kiss was a joke or an accident brought on by his hasty cookie retrieval. And she was confused by Tamaki's reaction. He seemed to freeze in place around her, apparently not liking Honey's answer.

Hikaru was smiling, having heard pretty much what he expected. Honey seemed oblivious to everyone's reaction and spun the bottle.

It landed on the duo of Tamaki and Haruhi. She turned her head to look at Tamaki and asked, "Should we flip a coin or something?"

He didn't get a chance to answer though because Hikaru jumped up. "Nope I think that means you guys broke the game. The end, no more Truth-or-Dare."

"Awww I didn't even get to give a dare though!" Honey felt cheated.

"You can let me up now, senpai." Haruhi was ready to get up if they were finished, and Tamaki reluctantly pulled his arms back so she could. He only allowed himself a moment of sadness though before he jumped up to excitedly announce the next game.

"It's time to tell a story!" He ran over to his piano and started playing a soft melody. "In this game, everyone will take turns telling a sentence or two of a story. The music will change tones as the story evolves and changes with each person's telling! I'll start! Once upon a time a handsome prince was walking through his kingdom when he spotted a beautiful maiden!" The music was upbeat and playful as Tamaki spoke.

They had spread throughout the room, so no clear order on who should go next. When Tamaki noticed this he spoke up again. "Come on guys! It doesn't matter who goes! Kyoya! You go next."

"If I must. The prince wanted to approach the maiden, but as soon as he started forward she turned and disappeared into the crowd." Tamaki change the music to signify walking and then settled into a gloomy melody.

"Good, Kyoya! Who's next?"

"After that single glance of her beauty the prince decided he could no longer live without her, and began searching his kingdom," Kaoru continued the story.

"And the first place he looked was a bakery!" Honey cheered. Tamaki laughed as the music turned chipper again. "The maiden wasn't there, but the prince was at least able to enjoy delicious cakes while he searched!"

"It was night by the time he left the bakery and he next decided to search a spoooooky alley. A rickety door lay waiting for him." Hikaru's two cents forced Tamaki to switch to a more chilling tune.

"He opened the door," Mori continued.

"And inside he found a wonderful flower shop where he purchased a bouquet in anticipation of finding his maiden!" Tamaki took the story back over to add some cheer.

"He decided to wait until morning to continue his search and then returned to the spot he'd seen the maiden previously." Haruhi had finally joined the game.

Kyoya went next. "She wasn't there though, so the prince enlisted some friends to aid in his search."

"He found an artist to describe her to, so he would have a painting of her to show people," Kaoru added.

"But the painter turned out to be an assassin in disguise and had used acid in the paint. As soon as the prince took the paining, his fingertips were burned!" Hikaru had to give the story another twist.

Tamaki's playing sputtered into broken chords before he jumped in to save the prince again, preferring to play the livelier melodies. "But the prince dropped it before it could do much damage! After binding his wounds he found another painter and had a very safe painting created of his maiden."

"He continued his search." Mori's additions weren't very helpful.

"Eventually, he found a man who said he knew who the maiden was!" Kaoru was happy to play along with the cheerier version.

"But it turned out to be her dad, and he hated the rulers of the land!" Hikaru was smiling. He enjoyed this game, even more so when Tamaki punctuated his addition with a foreboding dun, dun, DUN.

"However, the man was wise enough to know that a Prince is not yet a ruler, and therefore had no reason to hate him," Kyoya stepped in with a bit of logic.

"So the man showed the prince to his home and introduced him to his lovely daughter." Tamaki's music sped to a happy jig.

"The prince handed the bouquet he had bought to the maiden, but realized they were poisoned when the maiden died almost immediately!" Haruhi added, deciding she liked the direction Hikaru kept turning the story.

Hikaru smiled at her as he took over. "And the prince had been exposed to the poisoned flowers for so long that he died shortly after as well!"

Tamaki's fingers crashed down on the piano and turned around. "Hey! This was supposed to be a happy tale!"

"And there was lots of cake at their funerals. The end! There, it ended happy Tama-chan!" Honey's addition had the others laughing, but Tamaki scowled. "Speaking of cake, I'm hungry!"

There were murmurs of agreement and most of the club headed for the door. Haruhi heard the piano pick back up and noticed Tamaki still at the bench. "Aren't you coming, senpai?"

"I'll be down in a minute."

Haruhi walked back over to their leader and joined him on the bench. She watched his fingers glide across the keys playing a soft sweet song. "It's beautiful."

Tamaki smiled. "I'm glad you like it."

"Is that how you wanted the story to sound?"

"It would be nice if that's how life worked, wouldn't it be? You see what you want, you go after it, you get it, and it's all lovely and soft and effortless."

"What fun would that be?"

Tamaki looked at Haruhi, still continuing his song.

"If there was no challenge in getting your goal you wouldn't appreciate it as much once you had it. You need some of those twists in the story if you want your ending to be worth anything."

Tamaki looked back to the piano and changed the tempo of his song. It picked up the pace and extra notes were added occasionally so that a similar but more complex song was now playing. Haruhi thought it was even more beautiful now.

He looked back at Haruhi who held his gaze. "I think you're right, Haruhi. And I do like a challenge." He leaned toward her to rest his forehead against hers and closed his eyes. He concentrated on his hands and the song he had created, as well as the challenge his maiden was posing.

When he opened his eyes he found Haruhi's had closed like his, and a small smile played on her lips. She enjoyed listening to his music. "Haruhi." Her name was only a whisper, just enough to get her to raise her eyelids. Her eyes locked with his and he leaned forward to press a sweet kiss to her lips. He only stayed for a moment, less than three seconds if he was still keeping time with the piano correctly.

He was looking at her when he pulled back, watching for a reaction. She remained sitting next to him with her lips slightly parted, eye now fixed on his hands. When she finally looked up at him she wasn't sure what to say. "Tamaki-senpai-."

"Just Tamaki." He smiled softly, encouraging her to continue.

"Tamaki...I don't know what to say." She looked back down, now embarrassed that she'd just admitted her mind was drawing a blank.

"You don't have to say anything, Haruhi. I can wait. I've waited this long already." He brought his song to a close and stood up, offering her his hand. "Come have something to eat."

Tentatively, she took his hand and allowed him to lead her to where the others were dining. He let go before the others could see, but still guided Haruhi to a seat near his. She didn't really notice what she ate or what everyone was talking about, too busy with her own thoughts. First Honey had kissed her, and though she had written it off, it was apparently on purpose. Now Tamaki had as well. What was she supposed to think? What was she supposed to do?

Back in Tamaki's room the group settled in to do some homework. Haruhi was grateful for the choice. It gave her something else to think about, and she was able to act more normally.

There was a collective sigh of relief as Haruhi asked Kaoru a question about their homework. They all had noticed her lack of participation at dinner and how much she wasn't paying attention. They also knew whose fault it was, but that was something to be discussed at a later time.

They continued working until too many conversations had veered off course. Haruhi was laughing with Honey again and talking to the others like normal. No one wanted to rock the boat. If she was happy sitting around talking, homework forgotten, then so were they.

When the first yawn hit they decided to lay down much the same as they had at the Haninozuka estate. Haruhi found herself between Honey and Tamaki again. Honey scooted in close to her and grabbed her arm to cuddle. Tamaki hesitantly slid his hand into hers and squeezed slightly. She squeezed back but made no other move to acknowledge he was there. She stared at the dark ceiling while the others talked, making herself join in occasionally. Surprisingly, surrounded by the warmth and safety of her friends, she was the first to drift off.


	3. Takashi Morinozuka

**A/N:** I was planning on sticking to a Friday posting schedule, but wanted to post this chapter a day early. Thank you so much to everyone who has reviewed! It's always nice to know there are people who like my stories, and I'm glad you've all enjoyed this one so far.

...

Haruhi was ready this time. The group had approached her several days earlier to get her approval for another sleepover. She took a day to think it over, not sure if these sleepovers were all that great of an idea. Look what had happened at the first two! Neither Honey nor Tamaki had brought their kisses up again though, so Haruhi was fairly confident that it could be a fun evening. She had admitted (much to the boys' delight) that she had enjoyed herself at both sleepovers. Besides, this was Mori's home, and Haruhi was sure she could count on him not to act as the others had. Though that didn't solve the problem the others posed.

Having a warning helped her decision. She had a chance to pack her own clothes and was able to do any shopping she needed a day earlier. Haruhi had proposed a condition though: if she came to the Morinozuka estate this weekend for a sleepover, they had to do homework first. They were quick to agree.

The Morinozuka home was Haruhi's favorite among the hosts. It was the least grand, and the most down to earth. It felt humble and welcoming, and Haruhi actually felt like she could belong here. The mansions and estates of the other hosts were too much. Too grandiose, too excessive, too many thing too worry about breaking. Haruhi definitely preferred the Morinozuka's simplicity.

When the host club arrived at Mori's house they started with homework as agreed. Haruhi found herself, Hikaru, and Kaoru working with Mori for once, Honey's assistance being needed by Kyoya.

Haruhi herself didn't generally need help, and the Twins were smart too, but it was always nice having help if needed. When they did ask Mori for clarification he explained his answers concisely and in a manner easy to understand. Honey on the other hand usually took the long way around, flailing with excitement as he tried to enthusiastically depart is knowledge onto them.

Mori would lean into her when he helped, allowing him to speak quietly. It was considerate, Haruhi decided. He obviously didn't want to disturb the others.

It didn't take long for them to finish. Even though they were horrible distractions, Haruhi found that it was still faster working with her friends instead of on her own. "So, what are we doing today?" Haruhi looked around at her friends who in turn looked to Mori.

"Your house, your turn, Takashi!" Honey explained.

"We could go for a walk?" Mori turned his statement into a question, making sure they would even want to.

Haruhi reassured him. "That sounds great, Mori-senpai! Let's go!"

The others agreed as well and they headed outside together. Behind the Morinozuka house was a lush forest. The trees were thick enough to prevent much sunlight from shining through the canopy, but random rays still found their way in, giving the group something to see by. The underbrush grew wildly, preventing much of a path from surfacing. Various flowers were spread among the bushes, bringing some color to the dark setting.

Mori and Honey started forward, and the rest started to follow.

"There's not much of a path," Haruhi pointed out.

"Nope! But Takashi and I have walked through here plenty before! You can kinda see a path where it's mostly grass and dirt and less bushes, right?" Honey pointed as a talked, trying to outline their makeshift pathway.

Haruhi shrugged and followed the group. The walk started out pleasantly, the group sharing stories about their latest clients. That didn't last though.

Hikaru started it. He snuck up behind Tamaki, tapping him on one shoulder and then darting to his other side, as if he wasn't the one to do it. Tamaki looked one way, realized his mistake, and turned to glare at Hikaru. In response, Hikaru lifted his hand to tap Tamaki's other shoulder, yelling "Tag, you're it!" He quickly jogged a few steps ahead of the group to get out of Tamaki's reach and then, turning back towards them all, added, "No tag backs!"

The game was on. Tamaki was quick to react to their newest activity, immediately reaching for Kyoya who he'd been talking to. "Tag, Kyoya! You're it!"

"Really?" Kyoya sighed. He continued walking, shaking his head the whole time. Hikaru had stopped to frown at how quickly their game had ended, allowing Kyoya to catch up. As he stepped up next to Hikaru his hand came up, giving him a slight push as he passed him. "I believe that makes you it, Hikaru."

Hikaru grinned, glad the game was on after all. The others stopped, not wanting to get too close now that they were officially playing. Hikaru darted toward them and the group broke apart, falling away from the path in both directions. You could call it a psychic twin connection, but Hikaru knew exactly which way Kaoru would dodge, and mirrored his movements. "Tag!"

The group continued in the general direction of the path, now darting in and out of trees trying to evade being touched. Kaoru managed to trick Honey, making him think he was going one way when he really went another. "You're it!"

"Aww you got me!" Honey turned in place, looking for a victim. Haruhi wasn't far off, half hiding behind a tree. "I'm gonna get you, Haru-chan!"

Haruhi let out an uncharacteristically girly squeal and took off. She weaved around a tree and felt the impending dread wash over her. How could she possibly get away from Honey?

She spotted Mori directly ahead of her, and had an idea. She ran to him for protection, standing directly behind him to hide. Honey caught up easily.

"Can't hide forever, Haru-chan!"

He darted around Mori, and Haruhi did the same to stay away from Honey. They circled around Mori a few times, laughing at the absurdity of it all before Haruhi squealed out, "Mori-senpai, help!"

He came to her rescue as always. As she was passing back in front of him he swept her off her feet, lifting her where Honey couldn't as easily reach. She laughed some more, throwing her arms around Mori's neck to feel more stabilized. "Thanks Mori-senpai! You're my hero!" She twisted her head in Honey's direction and stuck her tongue out at him.

"Takashi!" Honey sulked, not getting to tag Haruhi after all. Then he smiled at his cousin as he reached out and poked his side. "I guess you'll just have to be it!" Honey laughed and ran away.

Mori paused a moment before gently lowering Haruhi to the ground. She let go of him, curious to what he was thinking. He looked down at her and patted the top of her head. "You're it."

The twins were laughing as Haruhi's mouth dropped in shock. How did she not see that coming? Mori smiled at her confusion and gestured at the group, reminding her to continue the game.

Haruhi smiled and turned to face the others, who all began running away. "Running away is futile! One of you is going down!"

They chased and evaded, each wanting to get one up on the others until it was too dark to do so. The moon was full though, providing them enough light to make it through the dense trees. They arrived at a small clearing and decided to stop.

Haruhi made her way towards the middle of the grassy space and collapsed onto her back to look at the sky. Without a word, Mori lay down next to her. The others joined after, laying in a circle with their heads at the center.

"Look, there's Orion!" Tamaki said, raising a finger towards the sky to point out the constellation.

"There's Gemini!" Hikaru and Kaoru intoned together, laughing. They had each raised a hand to point as well.

"I believe that really bright one close to Gemini is Jupiter." Kyoya pointed out his find.

"Draco, the dragon," Mori copied the others' actions.

Haruhi had been following along, glancing over at raised hands as needed to help her in the right direction, but couldn't see Draco. "Where?" she asked.

Mori lowered his hand back down to grab hers and lifted them back up together. He leaned his head against hers to better see from her angle and used her finger to point to the top of Draco.

"Here's the head. And this," he moved her hand along a path of stars, "is the body and tail."

"Ah I see it now!" Haruhi cheered.

Mori brought their hands back down together to lay in between them. He expected her to pull away now, if for no other reason then to point out a star of her own, but she left it. Mori didn't bother to move his head away.

When the host club was done star gazing they headed back into the forest to make their way home. It was darker now, the moon peaking in and out of clouds, so the return trip was much slower. Hikaru and Kaoru took it upon themselves to tell scary stories while they were in the opportune setting, causing more laughter than terror.

In one story, they focused their attention on Haruhi. They wove a tale of a young maiden lost in the woods at night and all the creatures she came across. With each new monster, they punctuated the scare by grabbing for Haruhi's sides to make her jump. Unfortunately for Haruhi, their actions tickled, something she did not enjoy.

After several of these 'scares' she had had enough. She listened to the build up in the story. When she knew the maiden was about to meet a new fearsome beast she jumped quickly out of their reach. Haruhi quickly regretted her hasty action. She'd been concentrating so hard on anticipating their movements that she hadn't spared a thought for where she was jumping. She landed half way on a raised tree root, the other half of her foot falling on air. She slid off the root, effectively twisting her ankle, and fell to the ground.

There was a collective yelling of her name before she could even express the pain she felt. They were fussing over her, apologizing for causing her pain when none of them were to blame.

"Calm down, I'm fine! It's not that bad and it's NONE of your faults so quit apologizing already!" She stood up carefully, leaving her weight on her good leg. "See? Fine." She moved her bad leg forward to take a step and immediately buckled under the pain. Her ankle wouldn't support her.

Before Haruhi could fully collapse, Mori was there assisting her. "You can't walk like this," he observed, reaching down to hook an arm under her legs, and his other around her shoulders, lifting her easily into his arms for the second time that night. He started walking again before she could react.

"Mori-senpai I'm _fine_ , really! I just need a second and I'll be walking no problem!" He was having none of it, continuing on in a stony silence. "You don't have to carry me, I can walk!"

"Mitskuni," he called, knowing his cousin would know exactly what he wanted.

Honey came up to Mori on the side Haruhi's legs were dangling from. Without a word, he jumped up and tapped Haruhi's bad ankle cause her to yelp.

Mori looked pointedly down at her. "You were saying?"

She sighed, realizing she had been defeated. "Are you planning to carry me the whole way?"

"Yes."

Haruhi knew that answer was coming, expected it, but she still didn't like it. She wasn't some damsel in distress who needed looking after. She was strong and could hobble through the pain just fine! It was futile to argue though, so she kept quiet as they traversed the rest of the small forest to Mori's house.

She was grateful when they finally arrived, ready to be let down, but Mori wasn't having it. He sent the others off to eat and took her to his room, sitting her gently on the edge of his bed. "Don't move," he commanded.

Mori disappeared for a moment, returning with a first aid kit. He knelt down in front of her and gently removed her shoe. "Senpai, you really don't have to do that!" Haruhi tried to pull away, but his firm grip on her leg prevented that. He took off her sock next and then set her foot on his knee. After rolling up her pant leg he slowly started wrapping her ankle.

"You're good at that," she noticed.

"It's a necessary skill when you practice martial arts." Haruhi nodded her understanding. She watched him work, starting to feel guilty for causing so much trouble.

"Hungry?" he asked when he was finished. The others were eating and he planned to join them. He gently set Haruhi's foot on the floor with her other one so he could stand up. She nodded that she was hungry so he bent down to pick her up again.

"No, really! I can get there on my own!" She protested, giving him pause. He looked at her and shook his head.

"You're not putting any pressure on that," he pointed to her ankle, "at least while you're in my house. And I don't allow food in my room. If you're hungry we have to join the others." He reached the rest of the way to pick her up, not waiting for a response. "You have to let people help you sometimes, Haruhi."

She wrapped her hands around Mori's neck, acknowledge that he was right. "I'm sorry I'm such a burden, senpai."

He stopped dead, looking at her. "Do you really think any of us see you as a burden?"

Haruhi honestly wasn't sure. She was the poor commoner that didn't quite fit into their world. She didn't understand why they did some of the things they did or how they could spend the amount of money they did without blinking. She argued with them often about all their ridiculous notions, and she had to be coerced into half of their schemes.

And yet, they included her. They sought her out outside of the club, wanting to spend time with her. They asked for her advice, and her opinions, and even seemed to value her ideas.

But Haruhi still wasn't sure. "Maybe not always, but-"

"Not ever," he corrected her. "Not on a normal day and not when you're hurt. I didn't _have_ to carry you all the way home, but I wanted to. You're a friend, never a burden."

Haruhi smiled, glad to know how he thought of her. "Thank you, senpai, for helping me." Her voice was barely above a whisper. She was embarrassed that she'd been complaining and fighting his help when she should've thanked him sooner.

"I always will," he said before he lowered his head the short distance to hers. In his arms the way she was the kiss was soft and intimate. He smelt woodsy, earthy, but not because of where they'd been. This scent was wholly Mori, and it was intoxicating.

And then his lips parted from hers and she was blushing. That was number three. Her third kiss at the hands, or rather lips, of one of her fellow hosts. Why was this happening? Why wasn't she stopping it?

Haruhi's hands fell back into her lap, not sure of what to do now or even what to say.

"Let's go eat," Mori said, saving her the trouble of formulating a response. At least _he_ was still thinking straight, even if her thoughts were spinning in circles.

In the dining room the rest of their friends anxiously awaited. They were relieved when Haruhi and Mori finally rejoined them.

"How's the ankle, Haruhi?" Kaoru asked for the group. None of them missed the color on her cheeks. They now knew exactly what had taken their friends so long.

"Practically good as new," Haruhi answered, attempting a small smile. She waved her wrapped foot in the air as if to prove her statement.

Kyoya pulled a chair out next to him so Mori could set her down, and then took the adjacent chair for himself. They both grabbed some of the waiting food and listened to the recap of what hilarity they had missed.

Haruhi laughed along, trying not to look like her mind was running in hyper-speed, going over everything that had happened at each sleepover. She was getting good at this facade.

"Okay, we have to play a stationary game now so Haruhi isn't left out," Tamaki announced when they were done eating.

"How about a board game? Doesn't get much more stationary then that." Kaoru made a valid point but Mori shook his head, indicating he didn't have any.

"We could see who knows the others best! Two truths and a lie!" Hikaru received several blank stares at his suggestion. "It'll be fun! Here." Hikaru got up, disappearing from the room momentarily. He returned with his school bag, fished out several pieces of paper and various pens, setting them on the table. "Everyone will write down three sentences on their paper, two of which have to be true statements about yourself, and the other is a lie. You can put them in whatever order you want. Then we take turns reading our sentences and the others vote on which we think is the lie. If you're right, you get a point, and for every one that's wrong the sentencee gets two points!"

"I'm in! I know you all like the back of my hand!" Tamaki jumped up to grab a pen and sheet of paper from the pile, and the others did the same. Mori grabbed Haruhi one before she could try to stand to reach for herself.

They were all silent for awhile as they sat and thought of what to write. Haruhi was the first done, fairly sure her lie would be hard to detect. She glanced around at the others as they scribbled, wondering how well she really knew them.

"Eyes on your own paper, Haruhi! No cheating!" Tamaki exclaimed, noticing her wandering eyes and wrapping his arm around his paper as a shield.

"How exactly could I cheat? Even if I look at what you're writing I don't know if it's the truth or not."

"It would give you more time than the others to think it over! Maybe you could logic someone's lie out!"

"Alright alright, I'm sorry." Haruhi looked back at her own paper, rereading her choices. She was suddenly nervous. What if she couldn't pick out anyone's lie? Would that make her a bad friend? She suddenly wasn't so sure her own statements would stump them.

Before she could decide on something to switch out, the others were finished.

"Okay! Mori-senpai it's your house so you should go first! Read out your sentences and we'll vote!"

Mori picked up his paper and read. "I enjoy rain. I can't remember how I spent free time before I met you all. I want two kids." He put his paper back down.

"But Takashi-" Honey didn't get a chance to finish his thought.

"Nuh uh, Honey-senpai! No discussion until everyone votes so nothing is given away." Hikaru wagged his finger back and forth at Honey as he explained. "Okay, so who thinks the first statement was a lie?"

No one raised their hand or spoke out.

"Who thinks the second statement was a lie?"

Hikaru raised his own hand and watched as Kaoru and Kyoya did too.

"So Haruhi, Honey-senpai, and our King think the last statement is a lie?" Heads were nodding all around. "Alright, tell us which was the lie, Mori-senpai!"

"I don't want two kids. I want three."

"Aw man! How did you guys know?" Kaoru questioned.

"Cause he's told me before that he wants three!" Honey explained.

"I guess I didn't know for sure, but I can understand how someone could forget how they used to spend their time, so I didn't think it would be that." Tamaki had a dreamy look on his face, as if he trying to imagine a life where he didn't have this club.

"Same," Haruhi nodded her agreement. She could hardly remember how she used to spend her free time, so why wouldn't the same be true for someone else?

"Aw man! Okay you three each get a point for guessing right, and Mori you get two points for each of us that guessed wrong. Moving clockwise now so take it away, boss." Hikaru moved quickly onto the next round, wanting to redeem himself.

"Okay, here it goes! I love piano now, but I hated it when I first started. The last person I knowingly made cry was my mother. And lastly, I'm afraid I'll never live up to my grandmother's expectations."

"Alright, voting time. Who thinks the first is a lie?" Haruhi, Kyoya, and Kaoru raised their hands.

"And who thinks the second is a lie?" The rest of the group raised their hands. "Tamaki?"

"Huh, I thought I hid my fear better; I thought at least one of you would pick my third sentence. Oh well, the first statement was false. I've always loved piano."

"Damn, wrong again!" Hikaru exclaimed.

"He begged his mother for lessons," Haruhi explained. "He loved the way piano sounded and wanted to be able to play too." Kyoya and Kaoru nodded their agreement.

"All right my turn!" Kaoru said after marking down his point. "My happiness means less to me than my brother's. When I was young, I thought everyone had a twin. The first girl I ever had a crush on wouldn't even talk to me." He smiled at the group, challenging them to find the lie.

Hikaru knew the last statement to be false, but apparently, so did everyone else.

"Aw come on! I didn't think it was that easy!"

The others were laughing at him. "It definitely was, Kao-chan! No points for you! And it's my turn now!" Honey took a deep breath so he could race through his own statements. "If it weren't for the family I was born into I wouldn't have studied martial arts. I didn't have my first piece of cake until I was 7. If Haruhi had been hurt when those bullies threw her off the rocks at the beach, I would've killed them."

There was silence around the table as they took in what he'd said.

Tamaki gave off a nervous laugh. "Well that got a bit dark, hehe." Haruhi had a small smile on her face though; it had actually been sort of sweet.

"Soooo voting then," Kaoru moved them along.

Hikaru was the only one to vote for the first statement. Haruhi, Mori, Tamaki, and Kyoya voted for the middle statement. That left Kaoru to vote for the last.

"Seriously, I'm the only one? There's no way Honey-senpai would ever be that violent! He doesn't even like hurting people, let alone killing them!"

They all looked to Honey to see if Kaoru was right. "I _don't_ like hurting people, you're right Kao-chan. But under the right circumstances I absolutely wouldn't hold back." His face was more serious than they were used to seeing, but Haruhi smiled again, looking down at the table.

"Thank you, Mitskuni." It was a whisper, but he heard.

Honey smiled softly back at her in response. "But anyway, the majority wins! I didn't have my first piece of cake until I was 8! Before that was the saddest years in my whole life!" That gave everyone a chuckle. "What gave me away?"

"Well, if you didn't want to learn martial arts you would have stopped after learning your own families style, and as for that last statement..." Kyoya trailed off, thinking. "Well, you aren't the only one with anger issues."

Hikaru was sulking, currently in last place with zero points. "Alright it's my chance to catch up. Ready?" He didn't wait for anyone to answer. "If I didn't need to finish high school to get to college to start working in fashion with my mom, I'd drop out right now. I would love to have a younger sibling. I hate the Which One is Hikaru game." He crossed his arms in front of his chest, sitting back in his chair. "Let's see you guys get this one!"

Kyoya chose the second statement while everyone else went for the first. "He _has_ a younger sibling already, rendering the second statement inaccurate, which basically makes it false," Kyoya explained his reasoning.

"You know what I meant!" Hikaru defended. "Everyone else is right. If I dropped out I wouldn't get to spend near as much time pestering you guys." Hikaru marked his first two points of the game.

Kyoya was next. "If my family wasn't in medicine I wouldn't be planning on becoming a doctor. Before Tamaki, I never had a best friend. When I was young I wanted a pet but wasn't allowed one."

The vote was evenly split for the first time. Haruhi and Tamaki picked the first statement, Mori and Kaoru chose the second, and Honey and Hikaru voted for the third. They discussed before Kyoya could verify the winners.

"There's no way you weren't allowed a pet Kyo-chan! It's too sad!"

"And not having a best friend isn't sad?" Kaoru questioned.

"Well, of course it is but, I mean, this is Kyoya Ootori we're talking about. Sorry, Kyo-chan." Kyoya nodded his understanding. He knew he was cold and calculating.

Haruhi defended her choice next. "Kyoya-senpai, you're nicer than you let on. I think you'd still want to be a doctor because you enjoy helping people." Tamaki nodded.

They all turned to Kyoya, awaiting the truth. Kyoya took a moment to answer, making sure they were actually done. "I was not allowed a pet and I didn't consider anyone to be my best friend." By process of elimination, that made his first statement a lie, even if he wouldn't admit he enjoyed helping others.

"You're last, Haru-chan!"

"I wanted to play the cello when I was 8. I haven't always been afraid of thunder. Before my mom died, I had no interest in being a lawyer." She sat back, much as Hikaru had, watching as the others tried to work it out.

"Ready to vote?" Haruhi asked after a minute.

"Read them again, please," Mori asked.

She obliged, not giving anything away on her face. "Alright you've had enough time. Who is voting for my first statement?"

The others were looking around now too, waiting to see if anyone raised their hand. Slowly, Honey raised his hand to vote for the first statement, followed by an encouraged Kaoru.

"And who wants to vote for my second statement?"

There were more exchanged glances before Tamaki and Hikaru raised their hands.

"And now my last statement." The last didn't actually need a show of hands, but Haruhi wanted to make sure no one was going to try and change their minds.

Mori and Kyoya raised their hands, not at all sure if they were right.

"Interesting," said Haruhi. She nodded to herself, thinking.

"Come on, already! Put us out of our misery!" Hikaru said.

She looked around, holding each of their gazes for a moment. "I want to know why you each chose your answer, and then I'll tell you who was right." There was a grunt of frustration from a few as Haruhi looked at Mori to start. She would go around the table as they had for the game.

"You loved your mom so much, I thought you idolized her and wanted to be like her," Mori explained.

Haruhi nodded along, then looked to Tamaki. "I've seen you in a thunder storm, Haruhi." His expression was sad, but he tried to smile. He didn't elaborate further.

She turned to face Kaoru who said, "Sorry Haruhi, you're just not very musically inclined." He shrugged.

Attention now on Honey, he shrugged as well. "What Kao-chan said. You never expressed an interest in music, but I bet it'd be cute to see a little Haru-chan behind a big cello!"

Hikaru looked sad as well when Haruhi looked to him. "Tamaki and I are the only ones who've seen you around thunder. There's no way it's something that just happened. It's a deeply ingrained fear."

Finally, just Kyoya was left. "Much as you said I enjoy helping people, you too can't turn your back on those in need."

Haruhi nodded her understanding of everyone's answers. "Well, you're all technically right in your logic. I'm not musically inclined, but maybe I would be if my family could've afforded cello lessons." She looked at Honey and Kaoru, letting them know they'd lost. "And I do idolize my mother and want to be a lawyer who is able to help people from getting screwed over, but when she was alive, I hated her job. She worked long hours and too many weekends. I understood that what she was doing was important, but I still just wanted her around more." Kyoya and Mori nodded, understanding Haruhi a little better.

Haruhi looked from Tamaki to Hikaru and back again. "You two are right. Though my fear has certainly gotten worse since I was a child, I've always been afraid of thunder, and I probably always will be."

"I hope someone will always be there to help you through the storms. I know any of us will be when possible." Tamaki was giving a more genuine smile now.

"I know," Haruhi answered. And she did know.

"Well, Haruhi, that puts you two points ahead of Tamaki, making you the winner!" Kaoru wanted to cheer everyone back up. Haruhi smiled. She hadn't needed to be afraid after all.

"I'm ready to lay down if everyone else is," Honey stated.

They all were, and headed back to Mori's room, Haruhi in his arms. As most of them worked to move furniture out of the way to make room for their mesh of blankets and pillows, Mori carried Haruhi to his bed. "You'll be sleeping here." He set her down.

"What? No, I can't sleep in your bed, senpai!"

"You can. Your leg needs to stay elevated and that won't be easy if you sleep among us." He paused, seeming to stare more intently at her. "Call me Takashi."

His name is what did it. She couldn't fight anymore after that. She would sleep in his bed if that's what he wanted because she couldn't argue with someone offering their first name. Someone she'd kissed.

Haruhi allowed Mori to place her leg on a pillow as she lay back stiffly on his bed, blushing slightly. She felt awkward here, like she didn't belong, and she couldn't get comfortable. It didn't help that she was pretty much stuck in one position because of her leg. She turned her head to the side and smelt Mori. Haruhi had to raise her head to find him among the guys on the ground, but he was there, and not near her. She dropped her head again and breathed deeply. He had left his pillow for her instead of exchanging it for a guest pillow. His earthy scent washed over her and she was finally able to relax. She felt safe here.


	4. Kyoya Ootori

**A/N:** Here's the next chapter! I hope it will hold you over for awhile, because I probably won't be posting another chapter for a few weeks. My work schedule has changed and I've got vacation coming up, so things are kind of crazy. Enjoy!

...

Haruhi was skeptical. Each of the previous sleepovers had led to a kiss or more. Cuddles, hand-holding, intense looks, she felt like she'd be walking into a trap if she agreed to another sleepover.

After much contemplation, Haruhi decided it wouldn't be fair to Kyoya if she didn't attend, but she resolved to not be alone with any of the hosts if she could help it. She hadn't figured out what they were up to yet, but she wasn't going to make it easy for them to accomplish.

At the Ootori estate they once again started with homework, much to Haruhi's relief.

"All done!" Haruhi declared, closing her book. The others followed suit.

"Great!" Tamaki exclaimed, throwing his arms around Haruhi. "Then lets go play hide-and-seek in the gardens! Wait 'till you see them, Haruhi! The Ootori's garden is huge!"

The group all muttered their agreement and made their way outside. The sun was nearly set and Haruhi couldn't make out anything past the first row of shrubs outside.

"How are we supposed to play hide-and-seek in the dark? We won't be able to find anything out here!" Haruhi was already regretting her choice to come. Fairness to Kyoya wasn't worth tripping and breaking her neck.

"That won't be a problem." Kyoya walked to a box on the back wall of his house. He opened it and flipped several switches before turning back to the group. "Is that better, Haruhi?"

"Wow," was all she could say. The gardens were beautifully illuminated now. There were decorative orbs in the ground lighting the pathways, and larger display lights in the distance around various statues and decorative shrubbery. She had to admit, the grounds around the Ootori mansion were vast. Haruhi wasn't sure if she could see the end. Every direction was more bushes, flowers, and vines, and she was excited to walk through and see it all. "It's beautiful, senpai."

Kyoya smiled to himself and led the group down the back steps to the vine-laden archway that led into the gardens. "Here are the rules: whoever is 'it' will count from this archway. Everyone else has just one minute to hide, and the first one found will be 'it' in the next round. Furthermore, whoever is 'it' is not allowed under any circumstances to climb back up those stairs to the house, as it allows too good a view of the gardens. Who's first?"

"ME! I wanna be 'it' first!" Honey was jumping up and down, trying to make sure he was noticed.

"Okay Honey-senpai. Close your eyes and start counting." Kyoya was already heading into the gardens before the counting could commence.

"Yay!" Honey did a little spin to face himself away from the gardens and closed his eyes. "One, two, three..."

Everyone was off after that. The twins and Tamaki rushed ahead on the path, while Mori and Haruhi sauntered along. At a fork in the path the two split up as well, and Haruhi was on her own. She heard Honey finish counting in the distance ("Ready or not, here I come!") and knew she needed to actually find somewhere to hide and stop looking around so much. As she rounded a corner, someone grabbed Haruhi's arm and pulled her the opposite direction, causing her to yelp.

"Shh," Kyoya whispered into her ear, still holding her arm.

"Where did you come from, senpai?" Glancing around Haruhi realized she was in a hidden alcove in the bushes. Unless you were looking at it from just the right angle you wouldn't know it was there. "Oh," she said in understanding. Their location also explained their position. The space wasn't very large, and Kyoya had pulled Haruhi right back against him in order for them to both fit. So much for not being alone with any of them.

"Since it's your first time in these gardens I figured you wouldn't be able to find a good hiding spot. I thought I'd help out." He was still whispering and paired with his proximity Haruhi couldn't help the shiver that ran down her body. "Are you cold, Haruhi?"

Embarrassed that Kyoya had noticed, Haruhi blushed. She turned her head slightly to the side so she could whisper too. "No, I'm alright. Thank you for sharing your spot, senpai. It doesn't really seem like it was meant for two people, though."

He agreed with a quiet "Mmm."

They stood in silence for a few minutes, listening for their pursuer. Honey was stealthy, light on his feet. They couldn't tell where he was until he found someone. "I FOUND YOU TAMA-CHAN! Yay I found you, I found you!" He laughed in jubilation and then was suddenly silent again. The hunt recommenced.

"Sounds like they're on the other end of the garden. It could be awhile before they find us," Kyoya said into Haruhi's ear again. Another involuntary shiver ran down her body, and Kyoya's other hand went to Haruhi's other arm in response. He rubbed her arms up and down, wanting to warm her up. It just caused her to tingle more. Every nerve throughout her body touching him seemed more acute, she could feel his slightest movements against her.

"FOUND YOU, TAKASHI!"

Kyoya stopped rubbing, and tried to listen even harder. Honey's voice had been right on the other side of the bush they were hiding behind. Haruhi was holding her breath, not wanting to make any noise, her eyes wide at how close Honey was. Neither could hear which way he'd run off to until he'd found his next victim.

"GOT YOU! NICE SPOT HIKA-CHAN, KAO-CHAN!"

Haruhi let out the breath she'd been holding, uncharacteristically relieved that they hadn't been found yet. Kyoya smiled behind her, still holding her arms, but not recommencing his rubbing.

Several more minutes passed of them standing against each other silently before they heard the others again. "COME ON HONEY-SENPAI, WAITING AROUND IS BORING! LET'S END THIS ALREADY!" It was Hikaru who yelled, probably from the beginning arch judging by the direction of his voice.

"AWWWWW, OKAY I'M COMING." Honey couldn't have sounded more disappointed. The hiding duo had frozen again, hearing Honey only a few steps away. If he only looked the right direction they'd be found. They listened to him sulking away, no longer needing to walk quietly.

When Honey reached the entrance, they heard him once again. "OLLY OLLY OXEN FREE!"

"HARUHI, KYOYA! COME OUT ALREADY WE'RE WAITING!" Tamaki was just as impatient as Hikaru, especially having been found first.

Kyoya was by Haruhi's ear again. "Well, shall we?" His hand came off her and he gestured to the opening. Haruhi nodded and was the first to step out, surprised at how reluctant she was to leave the alcove. She waited for Kyoya and they made their way towards the group together.

"Don't tell the others we were together, Haruhi...it's more fun if they think there's two spots they couldn't find."

"Sure senpai. It'll be our secret," Haruhi agreed easily, having no intention of bringing it up. She didn't want to hear what her "father" Tamaki would have to say if he found out. Though at that thought, Haruhi realized Tamaki hadn't called himself her father in some weeks.

When they came into view of the others, Tamaki quickly ran up to them, glancing sideways at Kyoya. "Haruhi! Are you okay? Where were you? I was beginning to worry that something had happened!"

"I'm fine, Tamaki. I hear you got caught first!" She was quick to change the subject, and Kyoya was impressed at how subtle her evasion of his question was.

They all talked and joked for a few minutes until Tamaki was ready for another go. "Okay, I'm 'it', everyone ready?"

"Wait! We have an idea!" Kaoru jumped in front of the arch to prevent anyone running in. "Let's play sardines instead!"

"It's hide-and-seek, but in reverse!" Hikaru explained. "Whoever is 'it' has to go hide, and when time is up, _everyone_ goes looking for the 'it' person! If you find them, you have to join them in their hiding spot. Last one to find the hiding spot has to be 'it' for the next round!"

"That sounds fun!" Honey exclaimed, and Mori nodded his agreement. Tamaki seemed to deflate a little, but Kyoya liked the potential for this game. "That would give everyone something to do instead of just sitting around for the whole game. Okay. How about 2 minutes to hide and a 10 minute limit for the rest of us to seek?" Kyoya spoke, ever the voice of reason.

"Sounds fine to me. It'll be fun, Tamaki!" With Haruhi's encouragement, Tamaki was back to his hyper self and ready to go.

"Okay everyone turn around then, and here I GO!" The sounds of his footsteps faded in the distance as Kyoya set a timer on his phone.

"Where do you think he'll hide?" Kaoru conspired.

"Maybe behind the archer statue?"

"Oh, there's that fountain in the west corner!"

"He was under a bench in the gazebo in the last round!"

"He really is more of an in-plain-sight kinda guy."

The guys threw around ideas while Haruhi listened. She didn't know the gardens well enough to join the discussion, and had half a mind to just explore when time was up instead of looking for Tamaki.

"That's two minutes. Let's get this over with." Kyoya started into the garden and the twins ran past him.

"Come on Takashi! I bet he's this way!" Honey was pulling Mori behind him as he turned a corner.

"Seems the others have formed teams. Care to join me?" Kyoya looked back at Haruhi, awaiting her answer.

"Um, sure. Where do you think he is?"

Kyoya smirked. "I think I know."

Haruhi followed him down the lit paths, listening as he explained the origin of various statues. Eventually, they made it to an archway like the one at the garden entrance. This one led to a perfectly round space, walls of shrubbery enclosing it. Tamaki was laying spread eagle on the ground looking up at the night sky.

"Tamaki, you aren't even hiding!" Haruhi now understood what the others had meant about his hiding abilities.

"Sure I am! You can't see me except through that entrance, right? Besides this is my favorite spot in the Ootori garden. Come look at the stars with me Haruhi, they just came out." He patted the ground next to himself and returned his gaze to the sky. Haruhi obliged, though there weren't many visible stars while surrounded by garden lights. Kyoya chose to sit against the shrubs instead.

She had to agree it was a pretty setting, but their time there was short lived. Honey and Mori found them next, and the twins weren't far behind.

"Aw we're last! Kaoru you be 'it' okay?" Hikaru asked. He preferred to be on the seeking end of this game.

"Sure. You can count from here." And without much fanfare Kaoru was off.

The game progressed much the same way, Haruhi teaming up with someone else every round. Honey was last to find Kaoru, Hikaru was last to find Honey, Tamaki was 'it' again when he failed to find Hikaru, and then Mori had a turn when he came across Tamaki last. Everyone had trouble finding Mori, almost all running out of time before they found him laying flat under a bush. Kyoya agreed to be 'it' next as they had all found Mori as a group.

"Come on, Haruhi, lets go!" When time was up Tamaki was quick to claim her as a partner.

"Actually I think I want to try a round on my own, Tamaki. Sorry." Haruhi walked down the path and disappeared from the group. She had a feeling she knew exactly where Kyoya would be, and didn't want to lead anyone else to his secret hiding spot. Sure enough, at the path that looked like it turned only to the right, she looked to the left, and found Kyoya smirking at her. She slid into the alcove in front of him again, this time so the were facing.

"I'm surprised at you senpai. I thought you would've been more creative than to pick the same spot twice."

"It's the best spot," he answered simply.

Their bodies were touching again as demanded by the tiny space, and Haruhi was glad they weren't the same height. Then their faces might have to touch too...and wasn't that an interesting idea? Kyoya shifted his weight, bumping her slightly and causing another betraying shiver. She looked up to see him watching her. "It certainly seems so."

He lifted a hand to her arm again in response to her shiver, but then continued up to her chin. With a finger under her chin he kept her head tilted up to him. "Do you remember the beach, Haruhi?"

He did. Kyoya remembered very clearly the helpless position he had her in that day. He thought of it often, of how she hadn't pulled away. She wasn't pulling away now either.

"Yes." How could she not?

"You were wrong, then. I had something to gain." With that, Kyoya lowered his head down to hers, pressing his lips lightly against Haruhi's.

She had expected it and yet was shocked by Kyoya's action. He was kissing her! It was short-lived though, because footsteps were heading their way. Kyoya pulled back, releasing Haruhi's chin in the process. She stared at him, mouth slightly open. He pulled his own eyes away from hers, to see who was about to find them.

"Aha! I knew I'd find- Haruhi? I didn't think anyone would find Kyoya's spot but me." Tamaki frowned at the hiding duo, noticing Haruhi was only looking at Kyoya. "Well, make room!" He tried to bring his enthusiasm back; he was going to be squished in with Haruhi!

Kyoya grabbed Haruhi at the waist and squished them further into the branches so Tamaki could wiggle his way in next to them. His touch seemed to release her from whatever trance she was in, allowing her to look down at his hands and then over at their new hiding mate.

"There's only about a minute left and then the others lose!" Tamaki brightened even more at his latest thought.

Haruhi managed a small smile for him and then looked down to wait out the remaining time. Tamaki looked at Kyoya, instinctively knowing what had happened. He wasn't as blind of a King as he knew the group thought he was. Something had clearly happened before he walked in on them.

Kyoya gave a small shake of his head. This wasn't the time or the place.

When time was up the three stepped out of the alcove and headed back to the start silently.

Haruhi didn't know what to think. That was the fourth host to kiss her, and she had no idea why. She had even known it was coming in the end, and she had done nothing.

"There you guys are! Kyoya-senpai you have to show us this awesome hiding spot of yours!" Kaoru was impressed that Kyoya had evaded nearly everyone again.

"If I did that it wouldn't be much of a hiding spot, would it? I think it's time to go inside."

Haruhi found herself being herded up the stairs with everyone else, curious what could possibly be next.

"I've created a scavenger hunt. I have a list of items for you all to find around the house. First one to find them all and return to me will win a prize."

"What's the prize?" Kaoru wanted to know.

Glasses gleaming, Kyoya answered, "That depends on the winner." He handed a small sheet of paper to every participant and a bag to collect their items in, and sent them on their way.

"That prize is ours!" Hikaru shouted as he ran off with Kaoru to find the first thing.

"Not a chance!" Tamaki countered, heading off as well.

"Come on Takashi! Let's find the first item!" Honey and Mori didn't get very far before Honey spun back around. "Kyo-chan our lists are different!"

"An astute observation, Honey-senpai. Yes, everyone has different things listed to prevent cheating and to give everyone a fair shot of finding things. Otherwise one person could get to an item first, take it, and there might not be another in the house for anyone else."

"Aww I guess we have to split up, Takashi. I wonder when the others will notice?" They duo walked away in different directions.

"Good luck, Haruhi," Kyoya said as he, too, left.

Alone at last, Haruhi was at a loss. She didn't know what was going on or why the others were doing this to her. Worst was that no one ever brought it up again! She looked down at the list in her hand. Dish soap, paper clip, hair band, and several other very common things. Haruhi was pretty sure she had a few of them in her own bag.

Her hand started to crumple the paper, frustrated that they were playing yet another game while she stood here clueless. She didn't care about some stupid prize! But maybe she should. _If I win, maybe I can get answers as my prize._ Resolute, Haruhi straightened out her paper and set to work on the scavenger hunt. She _would_ win.

Haruhi's biggest disadvantage was that she didn't know her way very well around the Ootori mansion. When she needed to find a bathroom she found a study, when she wanted the library she found a back door to the kitchens.

Occasionally she'd run across a member of staff and they would point her in the correct direction, but the other hosts she came across seemed to be trying to prevent her winning. They distracted her or sent her the wrong way, and it made Haruhi want to win even more.

Finally, she had only one item remaining: a hair from Kyoya's head. It seemed too convenient, and it gave Haruhi pause. It had to be another trap. Shaking her head Haruhi steeled herself for their encounter. She would find Kyoya, pluck a hair, and get her answers. Nothing else was going to happen because she was going to demand answers before anything could.

Haruhi headed for Kyoya's room quickly, not wanting to lose her nerve. She threw open the door and stepped in practically yelling, "Kyoya-senpai!"

She had more to say. She'd rehearsed the speech in her head on the way up, if only she could get the words out! But she was speechless as soon as she saw him. Kyoya was in front of his desk, looking down at his computer. He wore pajama bottoms but his shirt was missing, and a towel wrapped around the back of his neck fell onto his chest.

It reminded Haruhi of the beach, seeing him like this. It reminded her of Kyoya towering over her then and of what he said less than an hour ago. _"_ _I had something to gain."_

He turned at the sound of her voice, smiling when he noticed her staring. "Sorry Haruhi, I felt the need for a...cool shower. Are you already done?"

He didn't sound sorry at all, and he made no move to rectify his attire, instead dropping his towel onto his desk chair. She followed the movement with her eyes, before snapping back up to concentrate on his face. His question brought her back to her purpose. She was here for answers, and she needed one of his hairs to get them.

She wanted to make sure, first. She had to find out if he would even give answers, otherwise there was no reason to finish the hunt. "Kyoya-senpai-"

"Kyoya," he corrected her.

She started again, even more nervous now. "Kyoya...you said the prize depends on the winner." She stepped further into the room and closed the door behind her, dropping the bag of items on the floor.

"Mm hmm," he confirmed, stepping over to a bookshelf on the wall.

His movement made her feel the need to close the distance again and she approached a few steps closer as she talked. "Well I wondered if I could choose my prize...if I win?" She tacked the end on as an afterthought, recognizing that she actually hadn't won yet. One of the others could easily walk in before she achieved her goal.

Kyoya was intrigued. "That would depend on what you want...if you win that is."

"I want answers."

"I wasn't aware you had questions."

"I want to know why you kissed me! Why nearly everyone has!"

Kyoya raised an eyebrow. "As smart as you are Haruhi I would've expected you to know those answers already."

"Will you answer or not?" But Kyoya had already given her an answer to a question she hadn't asked, probably on accident, Haruhi realized. She had wondered if any of the hosts knew that she'd been kissed by multiple of them. Apparently Kyoya knew, at the very least.

Kyoya smirked. "Win the scavenger hunt and you'll find out."

Determined to grab a strand of his hair, Haruhi stalked forward. Directly in front of him she reached her left hand towards his head only for it to be stopped in mid air by his own. He pulled her arm around, forcing her body to follow until her back was against the wall. He pulled the arm back down to her side, holding it there, and placed his other hand against the wall by her head, effectively pinning her. His body was close to hers but not touching as he stared, waiting. "Well, are you going to win the scavenger hunt or not?"

Haruhi's heart was pounding in her chest and she felt frozen to the wall. One of her hands was still free though, and with it, she slowly reached up to Kyoya's head. His eyes followed her hand, watching as she separated one damp strand from the others and delicately plucked it from his scalp.

Her hand hovered there by his head as he returned his gaze to hers. She was frozen again, waiting for him to do something. "It seems you've won, Haruhi. I can't give you the answers you're looking for right now, but I can help you along. When two people share a kiss it's not generally because they hate each other."

She let out the breathe she hadn't realized she was holding, surprised he had any answer at all.

"And now for your prize."

Haruhi's pulse quickened even more as he lowered his head to hers. He hovered above her mouth a moment, giving her a chance to turn her head away or slap him with the hand still hovering near his head or anything at all. When she didn't, he kissed her.

It wasn't as gentle as their former kiss. The wall provided a stability they didn't previously have, allowing Kyoya to press their lips more firmly together. Her hovering right hand came down to rest against Kyoya's bare chest, clutching at it, instead of pushing him away as he was expecting. His left hand moved to caress the back of Haruhi's neck, the rest of his body closing the distance between them as she responded to his every movement, moving her mouth with his.

God, how he wanted this. And he could have more too. It would be so easy for him to release her arm and run his hand up her side. He could make his way under her shirt or he could even make his way lower. She was defenseless, his for the taking. He growled, deep in the back of his throat, frustrated with having to retrain himself.

And then he felt her shaking. Haruhi was scared. _He_ had done that. Shame ran over him. How could he have allowed those thoughts? He pulled away from her, now disgusted with himself. She wasn't ready for more, and he couldn't push it. He could've ruined everything.

He sighed as he rested his forehead against hers. His eyes remained closed, not wanting to see what horror he had put onto her face. Kyoya wanted to apologize for scaring her or forcing her into something she didn't want. He wanted to apologize for all of them, but that would be a step in the wrong direction, and he couldn't afford that.

He released her left arm which he had still been pinning to the wall and stepped back. He was looking down when he finally opened his eyes and turned his back on Haruhi. "The others should be finishing up soon if you want to sit and wait." He walked to his bed and grabbed the shirt he had abandoned there. He threw his towel into a hamper and then sat at his desk, keeping his eyes firmly on his computer.

His reluctance to face her prevented him from seeing the myriad of emotions crossing Haruhi's face. Kyoya missed the flush of her cheeks, the widening of her eyes. He failed to notice how breathless she was, or how she too, hadn't opened her eyes right away. As he turned away from her, Kyoya didn't spot the confusion in her face, the corners of her mouth turning down. He didn't see the rejection and pain in her eyes.

Haruhi wanted to cry and didn't know why. She was confused, frustrated, and aggravated by what kept happening to her. She _wasn't_ helpless but somehow she kept acting like it. Haruhi didn't understand the fear that crossed her every time either. What did she think they would do, hurt her? And she was never prepared for how _completely_ they all ignored the incidents afterwards. Kyoya had just turned away like nothing had even happened! More than once she thought she'd dreamed the touches and the kisses. She wasn't sure if she wanted it to be a dream or not. Most importantly, she didn't know what to _do_ about it.

Haruhi took Kyoya's advice and sat. She slid down the wall she'd been frozen to and pulled her knees up to wrap her arms around them. _This_ wasn't a dream, so it stood to reason that the others hadn't been dreams either. His answer kept replaying in her head: " _When two people share a kiss_ _it's not generally because they hate each other._ _"_ It wasn't an answer at all, really. Haruhi knew the others didn't hate her, even before this insanity began. And what did he mean, _share_? Those kisses were most definitely stolen, not shared. Right? How could he just turn away after _that_? She had kissed him back, enjoyed the feeling of him against her, and she thought he had felt the same. _"They don't hate each other," huh? I guess they just use each other then._ Haruhi felt abandoned.

Honey burst into the room, interrupting her train of thought. "Kyo-chan!" He took in the scene before him and paused. Haruhi had glanced up at him, looking lost, and Kyoya was very pointedly _not_ looking at him. Honey didn't want to draw attention to the situation, so he tried to remain enthusiastic. "Aww no, looks like I didn't win! I really thought I would be first!"

Before Kyoya could answer, Mori stepped quietly into the room, followed closely by a rushing Hikaru, Tamaki and then Kaoru. The latter three were out of breathe when they came to a stop.

"I win!" Hikaru announced.

"Not quite," Kyoya said, finally standing up to face the group. "Haruhi beat you all by quite a large margin. I'm embarrassed for you, honestly."

Honey had made his way to Haruhi as the others entered and reached down to grab her hands. "It'll be okay, Haru-chan. If you dwell on the past you might miss the next bit of fun in your future!" He tugged her hands towards himself, trying to urge her to her feet. As far as he was aware the others hadn't noticed her yet, and he wanted it to stay that way. Her position was enough to make some of the hotter heads of the group angry, and that would ruin everything they were working towards.

Haruhi listened intently as Honey spoke. He was the most straight-forward of the group, unafraid to speak his mind. He had been the only one to mention something had happened with them after the fact, even if he'd been forced into it by Truth-or-Dare. If he was saying everything was going to be okay, then everything would be. Haruhi nodded and stood up.

Together they made their way to a couch where the others were getting settled. Haruhi listened as they regaled each other with epic tales of their adventures through the house. She laughed along as expected, and managed to spin her own story into a much more harrowing tale than it was. It felt necessary since she was almost positive, now especially, that Kyoya had given her an easier list on purpose. He had wanted her to win.

Late into the night they laughed and talked as was now tradition at the end of their evenings, Haruhi fidgeting with a thin black hair the whole time.

...

 **A/N:** In case anyone has a severe case of amnesia (or perhaps never saw the anime) I wanted to clarify. When Kyoya asked Haruhi if she remembered the beach he was referring to _Episode 8: The Sun, the Sea, and the Host Club,_ wherein Kyoya had Haruhi in a compromising position. Haruhi showed no fear though, knowing that Kyoya "wouldn't do it" (take advantage of her) because he had "nothing to gain."


	5. Hikaru and Kaoru Hitachiin

Haruhi, for once, knew what she had to do. Today was the Hitachiin twins' turn. She had a feeling that it was their _turn_ to do more than just host a sleepover. But she would attend anyway. Hikaru and Kaoru would be heart broken if she didn't turn up after having done so for everyone else. Besides, she wasn't sure if the others even knew what had happened to her at the previous gatherings. They never talked about it. There was a definite possibility that it was all a big coincidence.

Haruhi wanted to believe that, but she wasn't so naive. There was more happening than a few stolen kisses.

She would arrive at their house with the others. She would enjoy the games they played and the jokes they shared. She would likely find herself alone with one twin or the other at some point. And she _would_ figure out why they were doing this. At least she hoped so.

This sleepover started like the last few, much to the annoyance of Hikaru and Kaoru. Shortly after everyone arrived they were lounging around, doing homework. Well, most of the hosts were. Hikaru sat flicking his pen against the table, leg bouncing underneath. Kaoru kept looking around, trying to determine how close the others were to finishing.

"Would you two stop already? I can't concentrate like this! If you're in such a hurry for us to finish then be quiet!" Haruhi was agitated, having been stuck reading the same paragraph in her textbook over and over. She wasn't absorbing any of it.

The twins stopped for a short while, desperately wanting the others to finish, but it didn't last. Before Haruhi had made it to the next page Kaoru had scooted closer to her.

"So, uh, nearly done there?"

"No."

"Do you want help? I'm sure we could help you finish faster!"

" _No._ "

He was silent a moment as Hikaru scooted up to her other side.

"Are you sure you don't want some help? I could explain that whole chapter in two minutes."

"Ugh fine I give up! Why are you two so eager to be done?"

"Yay, Haruhi's done! Time for a game!" Hikaru completely ignored her question, making Haruhi even more suspicious of their motives.

"We're gonna play group charades!" It was easy to see they were both excited. Haruhi didn't see the appeal. Acting like a fool in front of a group of people didn't sound like her idea of a good time. But Hitachiin house, Hitachiin turn.

Hikaru ran to a side of the room to grab a couple bowls filled with paper. "We've already got this game all ready to go! This bowl," he held up a small blue bowl with a handful of tiny sheets of paper in it, "has each of our names written on a piece of paper. For every round we'll pull two names out of it and the two people will have to work together to act out their word or phrase or whatever!"

"And this bowl," Kaoru held up a second, larger green bowl, "contains those words. We had some of the staff come up with them, so we didn't cheat. As a team you're trying to get the rest of us to guess what you're acting out! Whoever guesses right gets a point, and the actors each get a point. If no one gets it then the actors _lose_ a point. Sound fun?" Hikaru and Kaoru wore matching grins.

"That sounds fantastic! Who starts?" Tamaki was just as eager for their game.

"We'll each draw a name for the first round," Kaoru said, gesturing to his brother, "and after that it'll be the actors who each draw a name."

"So here we go!" Hikaru's hand dove into the smaller bowl and came out with a slip of paper. "Honey-senpai! You get to start us off!"

"Yay! This should be fun!" Honey jumped up, heading for the green bowl.

"And your partner will be:" Kaoru took a turn digging around in the bowl. "Kyoya-senpai!"

Kyoya sighed, not at all interested in this type of game. "If I must." He stood and joined Honey who was already reaching for a sheet out of the green bowl.

"This one!" He said, pulling it out. "Come over here Kyo-chan so we can discuss strategy!"

"You only get twenty seconds!" Hikaru yelled in warning. He wanted to get on with it already. The others lounged back on couches and chairs, waiting for the game to begin.

"Okay, we're ready!" Honey and Kyoya presented themselves in front of the group and they began acting.

Honey took an imaginary step upward and then stood still, hands running down the length of something the audience couldn't see and spreading outwards. Kyoya knelt beside him and didn't even get a chance to do his part before the first guess.

"Oh! You're kneeling down before your queen!" Tamaki was quick on the draw, but completely wrong.

Kyoya shook his had, planning to call his friend an idiot when he was no longer mute. Still kneeling, Kyoya grabbed at the air near Honey's feet using his thumb and pointer fingers. He shook it lightly, pulling the air slightly away from Honey and then set it back down.

"Oh! You're providing offerings for your god or goddess!" Kaoru had jumped in this time, wrong as well.

Kyoya reached beside him as if he was picking something up and then slid it into the air he'd just placed down at Honey's feet. Meanwhile, Honey was primping in front of an imaginary mirror. He was twisting this way and that to get better views of himself, and bouncing imaginary curls on his shoulders.

"Honey-senpai is definitely a girl in the scenario. You're such a pretty lady!" Hikaru joked. Honey smiled at him and fluttered his eyelashes, confirming the obvious.

Kyoya had stuck a few more imaginary things into the air by Honey's feet and now brought both hands up in front of his eyes. Concentrating, he brought his hands slowly towards each other, looking like his pointer and thumb were again holding something. The hands touched, and Kyoya looked frustrated, pulling them apart. He repeated the motion.

"You're threading a needle!" Haruhi knew that action well.

Kyoya stopped what he was doing to point at her, so she knew she was on the right track. He took his now successful threaded needle and returned his attention to Honey's feet. The needle made its way into the air.

"You're hemming a dress!" Haruhi yelled, so sure that was it.

"You're sewing a dress!" Kaoru yelled immediately after.

"That's it Kao-chan! You win!"

"Damn, so close!" Haruhi cursed.

"Better luck next time, Haruhi!" Kaoru cried, marking a point for himself, Honey, and Kyoya on a scoreboard.

The two actors made their way to the blue bowl to pick the next pair. It was Hikaru and Haruhi. Hikaru was quick to draw their category, and then smiled. He showed Haruhi, who frowned. "Don't worry Haruhi, this will be easy! Just follow my lead!"

The two stood in front of the other and Hikaru held his hand out, palm up for Haruhi to take.

"You're being a gentleman!" Kaoru laughed.

Hikaru stuck his tongue out in response, and Haruhi took his hand. He yanked her arm, pulling her into him and he grabbed her other hand.

"You're dancing!"

"You're kidnapping her!"

"You're not letting your daughter leave the house dressed like that!"

The last guess had them all laughing, and Hikaru had to stop his action for a second, shaking his head. He pulled himself together and grabbed Haruhi's hands again. He took a step back, pushing her hands, and therefore her, away from him, and then bringing them back together. He did it again, less forceful now that Haruhi was starting to get a feel for the movement. He let go of one hand, lifting the other over her head for her to spin under.

"I said dancing already!"

"You're ballroom dancing!"

"You're dancing partners!"

"First dance at your wedding!"

Hikaru blushed. Hikaru danced to the side and back again, letting go of one of Haruhi's hands. It went flying to the side as they momentarily were facing their audience, and then Hikaru tugged so she would spin into him. He let her spin out again so he could recapture her second hand as he had before.

"Jazz dancing!"

"Swing dancing."

"Yes!" Haruhi was out of breath as she pointed to Mori who had the right answer. "It's swing dancing!" She laughed, having enjoyed the dance more than expected.

Hikaru held his elbow out to Haruhi. "It would be rude of me to not escort my lady off the dance floor." She took his elbow, smiling, and they walked the couple steps to draw the next names.

Tamaki and Mori were up next. They had to act out "asking for an autograph" in which Mori was the cool celebrity, and Tamaki was fawning over him.

"You're meeting your idol!"

"You're having a seizure and the doctor won't help you!"

"You're his biggest fan!"

"You're trying to get his autograph," Kyoya finally said, ending the round.

They played for a couple hours, one crazy performance following another. Honey had to land a plane, played by Kaoru. Haruhi was various attractions in a haunted house, trying to scare Kyoya. Hikaru and Mori walked in a large circle, bobbing up and down while they rode a carousel. Tamaki had to bathe Honey-the-elephant.

In the end, Kaoru was the victor.

"Pool time!" Hikaru declared.

"I didn't know you guys had a pool," Haruhi commented. "I think I'll pass, though."

"You can't pass! Haruhi it's our house, so it's our turn to pick what we do! You did everything the others wanted at their houses!" Kaoru's whine had a point.

"Come on Haruhi. Don't you want to swim with us?" Hikaru joined in begging.

Haruhi sighed, she couldn't say no to them. Besides, she didn't hate any other activity brought on by these sleepovers, even when she thought she would. She had to give this a fair shot too. "Okay," she said. "Lead on to the swimsuits."

"No need! We saved the one we thought you would like before!" Kaoru held out a pink suit, frills covering the top half of the bikini. Haruhi vaguely remembered them showing it to her on a mannequin before.

"Fine, then lead on to the pool," she said, grabbing the suit from Kaoru's hand. It didn't really matter to her what suit she wore.

The Hitachiin's led the way through the back of the house and down to their pool. It would've been dark except for the lights below the pool's surface, setting everything aglow.

"Haruhi you'll have to change in the house. The rest of us will use the pool house." Hikaru directed the others onward to change and Haruhi turned back to the house. She glanced back a few times as she walked, expecting one of the twins to come up with an excuse to follow her, but they didn't.

Haruhi wasn't gone long, but when she returned the others were already in the pool, splashing each other and holding each other under water. Hikaru saw her first, immediately stopping his attack on Tamaki to stare at her. As the rest of the hosts noticed his inaction, they began to notice Haruhi as well. Hikaru and Kaoru had been right—the frills accented her figure nicely—and they couldn't help but look. None of them had ever seen this much skin from their female host.

Haruhi blushed at the attention, and made her way quickly into the pool where they couldn't gape at her.

Kyoya was the first to finally look away, clearing his throat and asking, "So we're in the pool, now what?" They all seemed to have forgotten the fun they were having before their distraction arrived.

"Um, right," Kaoru said, trying to pull himself together. It was just skin, after all. "Up for volleyball?" He swam to the side of the pool and hit a button, causing a net to shoot itself across the pool and latch onto the other side.

"Haruhi is on our team!" Hikaru called, before the others could think of it. "The three of us will take you four on!"

"I'm not so sure that's a good idea, Hikaru. I'm not very good." Haruhi was backing away from the net, right into Kaoru who had moved behind her. Her heart started beating harder. She was nearly naked, pressed against a nearly naked host, who she _knew_ was going to kiss her. This had to be it!

"That's okay," Kaoru assured. "We're _very_ good." He grabbed her sides to pick her up, and transported her a few strokes across the pool. "You start right here, Haruhi." He let go of her, sliding his fingers across her smooth skin instead of pulling them straight away. Haruhi took a deep breath, relaxing slightly. She felt foolish for her thoughts. Obviously it wouldn't happen in front of everyone else. That wasn't how these situations had been occuring.

Kyoya, Mori, Honey, and Tamaki agreed to the teams and spread out on their side.

It was a silly game. One person would dive for the ball, creating a splash that would temporarily blind their neighboring player, preventing them from getting the next hit. The twins would use Haruhi to distract the other team, laying a hand on her longer than necessary or picking her up randomly. When the other team served they were conflicted, half of them not wanting to target someone they saw as frail and delicate, and the other half wanting to watch her bounce in the water as she tried to hit it back. She rarely succeeded, and Hikaru or Kaoru were always a step away to back her up if needed. So concentrated on trying to help her team, Haruhi didn't notice the other host's motivations.

True to their word, the Hitachiin brothers _were_ good, and soundly beat their opponents. Pulling Haruhi between them, they celebrated with a crushing group hug. "Best two out of three?" Kaoru asked when they let go, grinning at his friends.

"I think that's enough volley ball," Honey said already heading to retract the net. "How about Marco Polo?"

"Yes, the great game of blind exploration! Fantastic idea!" Tamaki was ready.

"Any volunteers to be 'it'?" Hikaru asked.

"Sure, I'll do it," Haruhi said, making her way to the middle of the pool. The others were surprised; Haruhi rarely volunteered for anything. They weren't going to dispute it though. She reached the center and closed her eyes. "Marco!"

A chorus of "Polo" came from all sides of her and she choose behind her at random. She dove backwards, plunging under the water and coming up when she was pretty sure she was near the edge. "Marco!" She yelled as soon as she surfaced.

Their response came, one of them significantly closer than before. She turned in the direction of their voice, head continue to follow their path based on their splash in the water. She swam quickly forward, trying to reach them before the got away. She flailed a bit, not connecting with anyone, and again yelled "Marco!"

The chorus came as always, but so did a whisper from directly behind her, into her ear. She jumped slightly, not expecting the proximity, and spun in place. Her arm connected with someone and she opened her eyes triumphantly. Hikaru wore a sly smile in front of her. He swam a lazy circle behind her again, coming to rest with both hands on her bare sides again. He couldn't get enough of how she felt. Hikaru leaned down to her ear again whispering, "I didn't know how fast you were, Haruhi, but I'm 'it' now. Think you can out-swim me?"

Haruhi shivered at his hot breathe on her wet skin. She pivoted again to face him, pushing off from his chest to get out of arms reach. "Try me," she smirked.

Caught off guard by the challenge, Hikaru could only watch her swim away. "Well?" She yelled back to him when she noticed he hadn't moved.

Hikaru's smile returned and he firmly shut his eyes. "Marco!"

On the game went, each of them trying to relinquish being 'it' as quickly as they could. Hikaru didn't manage to catch Haruhi, and neither did anyone else. She had a way of slipping away through the water without the splash the others caused, making her hard to pinpoint. When she did get cornered she managed to dive behind someone else, turning them into a scapegoat. No one complained when they were used as such, as Haruhi usually grabbed onto them to more quickly pull herself out of harms way.

She was a faster swimmer than the others had any right to expect. This was the girl who wouldn't even get in the water at the Ootori resort. They half expected her to not know how to swim, let alone be good at it. The challenge transformed the game from regular Marco Polo to Marco Haruhi. Only Haruhi and whoever was near her at the time would answer the call of "Marco", giving the seeker a clear direction to find her.

After countless evasive maneuvers, the hosts finally named Haruhi queen of Marco Polo, and called it quits.

"I thought you didn't like swimming!" Kaoru exclaimed as they made their way to the edge of the pool.

"What made you think that?" Haruhi laughed. "My mom put my in swimming lessons when I was really young. We used to go swimming all the time!"

They got out of the pool, grabbing towels to dry off. Haruhi turned towards the house to go change and found the twins on either side of her. "We'll go with you. The maids probably moved your things."

They made their way into the house, Haruhi stopping in the nearest bathroom. "You're right, my clothes are gone."

"They're probably waiting in our room, freshly washed," Kaoru explained.

Haruhi nodded slowly, all too aware that she was now alone with the Hitachiin twins and continuing to move further away from the rest of their friends. She wasn't the only one still in her swimsuit either. Their towels were wrapped around their waists, Haruhi's around her shoulders. She pulled the towel just a bit tighter, realizing it was all that separated Hikaru and Kaoru's skin from hers.

Hikaru noticed the movement. "Cold, Haruhi? Here." He moved closer to her, wrapping his right arm around her shoulders. He rubbed her arm through the towel, trying to warm her. Kaoru moved in as well, snaking his arm under the towel and around her waist.

She appreciated the gesture, even if it wasn't necessary. "Thanks, Hikaru, Kaoru."

They arrived back to the room, finding the twins had been right. Her pile of clothes lay freshly folded on their bed. She grabbed them and walked to her bag in the corner of room. Haruhi bent down, tossed her clothes into her bag and grabbed some pajamas to change into. She had to let go of the towel to move her stuff around and it fell to the ground. She grabbed a corner as she stood and backed right into Kaoru, causing her to drop it again as well as the clothes she'd picked out.

He stabilized her, gentle hands falling on her waist. "Haruhi," he whispered, and her breathe caught. She knew what was coming, and was slightly nervous that she wasn't more dressed. He pulled her back by the waist, moving her away from the wall. Her hands fell on top of his as they moved, keeping them there. She would fall backwards if he let go.

They only went a few paces, giving Hikaru room to step in front of her. "Haruhi," he said quietly, moving his hand to her neck. He traced a finger from her ear to her shoulder, making Haruhi shiver and lean slightly away, giving his hand more room. He snaked his hand around her neck and leaned his head closer, gazing intently into her eyes. "Do you have any idea how hard it was to wait once we saw you in this bikini?"

"Maybe you should tell me what you're waiting for," she answered, knowing full well what they were waiting for. This wasn't the first guy to to pull himself in close like this.

Hikaru let out a shaky breath, but behind her Kaoru had inhaled. Kaoru's hands began moving on her sides, trailing the skin between each half of her suit. "This," Hikaru whispered, planting his lips on hers. The hand behind her neck kept her firmly glued as Hikaru's mouth moved against hers. Her hands came up to his chest, needing something to grab onto. She didn't know what to concentrate on. Her lips, neck, and sides were all tingling, sending constant shivers down her whole body.

Before she could make up her mind she was spinning. Hikaru had let go of her, leaving Kaoru the opportunity to pivot her body to face him. She barely got a breath before Kaoru's mouth descended on hers, using her waist to pull her even more into him. Her hands found their way to his neck and locked together behind it. Hikaru followed closely behind her, leaning down to place kisses along her neck. He opened his mouth and bit gently, causing Haruhi to gasp, pulling away slightly from Kaoru.

The brothers froze in place, recognizing they'd gone too far. The agreement had been just to kiss Haruhi, nothing more. And she had pulled away, meaning they needed to stop. Now. Even if it _had_ sounded like a gasp of pleasure, they couldn't keep going. They wouldn't be able to stop.

They each backed a step away from Haruhi, Kaoru finally dropping his hands from her sides and causing her hands to fall as well. They looked at each other over her, unsure of what came next. Hikaru, closest to her dropped things, grabbed them off the floor and held it out. "Here, Haruhi. You should go change." He gestured towards their bathroom.

Haruhi took her clothes and towel, flushed face looking from one brother to the other. They never met her gaze. "Really? You too, huh?" Haruhi shook her head. "Just take and leave," she muttered under her breath. Haruhi started for the bathroom wanting to cry or scream in frustration; she wasn't sure which. She knew what came next. They would never mention this ever again. It would be like it didn't even happen. _But it did!_ Haruhi Fujioka had just made out with both Hikaru and Kaoru Hitachiin, completing the list of host members.

And it didn't even matter. Not to them, anyway. But Haruhi would make it matter. Before this final sleepover concluded she would have answers, or so help her God she would make them pay. She would make them feel every ounce of loneliness and self-doubt they left her with. She would make them regret this...whatever this was.

Haruhi took a deep breath before returning to the bedroom. She needed to be calm and act like nothing had happened. Just like everyone else. The rest of the club was already there, fully dressed, when she opened the door.

Hikaru wasted no time in grabbing her hand to pull her along beside him. "Next game will be never have I ever!"

"Alright everyone 10 fingers up! We take turns saying something that we haven't done and everyone in the group who HAS done it has to put a finger down." Kaoru explained quickly as he claimed Haruhi's other side.

"When someone runs out of fingers the game is over and the player with the most fingers standing wins! We then have to help them complete something they've never done! I'll start." Hikaru was ready to jump right in, and Haruhi was happy to play along. It was easier to pretend if they were doing something. "Never have I ever lived in France."

"Hey no fair! You can't pick things to target people!" Tamaki was the only one effected by the statement and grudgingly put a finger down.

"Sorry boss, that's exactly how this works!" Hikaru's devilish grin was showing.

Moving clockwise in their circle, Haruhi was next. "Never have I ever had a sibling." Everyone except Tamaki and herself lost a finger, making them both grin. Haruhi was in the lead, the only one to still have all ten fingers.

Next up was Kaoru. "Never have I ever slept in someone else's bed!"

Haruhi's face burned as she lowered a finger. The way he said it made the act seem less innocent than it was. _She_ hadn't wanted to sleep in Mori's bed. _She_ wasn't given a choice. Honey lost a digit as well, but it was a surprise when Tamaki lowered one.

He shrugged, thinking nothing of it. "When I first moved here Kyoya let me sleep in his bed one night."

"I didn't really have a choice," Kyoya grumbled.

"Never have I ever woken up late." Mori moved the game along.

"Oh no that's me again!" Honey was forced to drop another finger, and was shortly followed by everyone but Haruhi.

"My turn! Never have I ever kissed a guy!" Honey stuck his tongue out at the twins who shrugged, each dropping a finger. It was no secret among the hosts that the brothers had kissed when they were younger, if only to see what it would be like.

Haruhi dropped a finger as well, as expected. The surprising response to Honey's statement came from Kyoya, who tried to slyly lower his finger. "Kyoya?" Mori asked, having noticed the movement.

Kyoya grimaced. "There was an...incident a few years ago. It was nothing." He refused to expand his explanation, much to everyone's disappointment. That was a story they wanted to hear.

Tamaki's turn was next. "Never have I ever won a scavenger hunt!"

Haruhi lowered a finger, remembering clearly her prize for winning. She looked to Kyoya, wondering if he had the same thought. He had lost a finger as well, as had Honey.

Kyoya was tied with Honey for last place, both having lost four fingers, and was ready to bring everyone down a notch. "Never have I ever lied to myself."

"I call bullshit! You told yourself the same lie as most of us, Kyoya!" Tamaki wasn't going to let Kyoya get away with that. If nothing else, most of the male hosts had lied to themselves about a very special female host.

"No, I only lied to you all about it. I was well aware of the truth myself, I just found the truth impractical, all things considered."

Haruhi had no idea what they were talking about, but dropped a finger as they were all focused on Kyoya. She had lied to herself plenty over the years, but she found herself spouting more and more lies lately. That kiss meant nothing, those touches were an accident, it isn't worth losing sleep over. None of it was true.

"So high and mighty Kyoya _knew_ before the rest of us, is that what you're saying?" Hikaru was starting to get mad. There was no _way_ Kyoya hadn't lied to himself about Haruhi. _He_ had lied plenty.

"I knew too, so I don't see why it's so hard to believe that Kyo-chan did. He is the shadow king." Honey nodded as he spoke, verifying his own claim.

"But you just put a finger down, Honey-senpai!" They all had at some point during the argument. Kaoru had been keeping silent track of everyone's finger count.

"Of course I did! There are other lies than the one you guys are so hung up on. I used to tell myself that I hated sweet and didn't need them!"

"Ugh, fine, Kyoya can keep his stupid statement. It's my turn again." They had gone full circle back to Hikaru. "Never have I ever cheated at a game to help someone _else_ win."

Kyoya smiled and dropped a finger, knowing Hikaru was using the scavenger hunt to get back at him. Honey had to drop a finger as well, causing the other hosts to look at him for an explanation. "Musical sweets was rigged." He shrugged like it didn't matter.

To Haruhi it absolutely _did_. If he rigged his game for someone _else_ to win, then he had rigged it for _her_. Suddenly all her lucky breaks with the music made sense. Did he want the two of them to be in the final round together? Did he _plan_ the kiss? She looked at him, trying to puzzle it out, and he smiled at her.

"It's your turn Haru-chan," Honey kindly reminded her.

Haruhi nodded her understanding. She had to think for a moment to find her next 'Never' statement. "Never have I ever physically picked someone else up."

The guys all dropped a finger, having either picked up a younger sibling, a client, or her at some point. Haruhi thought she saw a slight blush light Mori's cheeks, and she knew which specific time he was thinking about. It almost counted as an acknowledgment in her mind.

It was Kaoru's turn now. "Never have I ever made a pro/con list!" He smiled as only Haruhi and Kyoya dropped a finger, as he'd expected. "That'll teach you guys to target me!" Haruhi just rolled her eyes.

"Never have I ever cried in front of anyone."

Honey frowned at his best friend, lowering a finger as he did. Everyone but Kyoya lost a digit as well. Honey was forced to cheer back up though, as it was finally his turn again. "Finally! I needed a break; I only have two fingers left! Never have I ever told off someone's parent before!" He looked to Mori to make sure he lowered a finger. Mori had defended Honey to his dad when Honey gave into his love of cute things. Everyone else was looking at Haruhi, who had defended Kyoya to his father. She lowered a finger.

Tamaki wasted no time taking his turn. "I've got a good one! Never have I ever kissed more than one person on the same day!"

Haruhi went rigid. They all knew, they _had_ to. Nearly every 'Never' statement had to do with her interactions with one of the other hosts. She slept in Mori's bed, she'd been set up to win two different games that led to her _kissing_ the other hosts _,_ _s_ he'd kissed _all_ of them now, including both twins in one day. She'd lied to herself from the very first kiss about various aspects of it. This _couldn't be_ a coincidence!

She had only just kissed both Hikaru and Kaoru, and suddenly Tamaki was looking for a confirmation? All of them were in on this, whatever _this_ was. But how to prove it? She could stop dropping fingers and see who pointed it out. Only Hikaru and Kaoru should know that she had indeed kissed more than one person in a day, so if anyone else tried to correct her, she would catch them.

While Haruhi was creating her plan, Honey dropped a finger. "It feels like you guys are targeting me! I only have one finger left!"

That made Haruhi pause. Maybe they weren't targeting _her._ Honey had lost the most fingers, after all. Was it just another coincidence?

"Wow Honey-senpai, I didn't know how much you got around!" Tamaki patted Honey on the back, impressed.

But Haruhi wasn't impressed. Would they say that _she_ got around? And what did that make her to Honey, just another notch in his belt? She felt disgusted at that thought. She knew Honey cared about her more than that. She wasn't just a number. She couldn't be.

"Haruhi you- oof." Hikaru didn't get the chance to mention the finger she hadn't dropped. Kyoya had jabbed his elbow into Hikaru ribs as a not-so-gentle hint to shut up. "Nevermind."

That was almost proof. Haruhi knew exactly what Hikaru was going to say, and why else would Kyoya have stopped him if he didn't _know_. Haruhi held her remaining fingers more defiantly, ready to cheat her way through the rest of this game.

It was Kyoya's turn. He took a glance at Haruhi through his peripherals, thinking. He knew Haruhi should have lost another finger, but wanted to test why she'd refused to cooperate the last round. "Let's see, never have I ever been physically trapped by another person." Kyoya was now openly staring at Haruhi.

Her eyes had gone wide. Memories were flooding her. Laying on a bed, Kyoya towering over her, prickly bushes all around as Kyoya leaned in, a hard wall behind her as Kyoya seemed to completely control every move she made. He'd trapped her many times. He wasn't even the only one.

She dropped the surprise from her face, settling for a neutral expression as she avoided Kyoya's gaze. She looked around to see who else Kyoya's statement had affected, and frowned when she didn't notice a different number of fingers on anyone's hands.

"Oh!" Kaoru wanted to prevent Kyoya's awkward question from ruining the rest of the game. "Hikaru, that's us!" Hikaru looked at him questioningly. "You know," Kaoru threw a significant look at his brother, "we used to play cops and robbers and whoever was the cop would trap the robber!" That was a total lie. The twins had found the game boring and never really played, but Hikaru caught on to Kaoru's antics and played along.

"Oh yeah! I completely forgot!" They both dropped a finger. "And that brings it to my turn again! Never have I ever won a kendo tournament!" Hikaru was trying to keep the mood lighter now. Mori was the only one affected this round. "There we go, about time you're down to one hand, Mori-senpai!"

There was light laughter all around, following Kaoru and Hikaru's lead of trying to bring this game to a more cheerful end. Haruhi didn't join in.

"Never have I ever initiated a kiss." Haruhi slowly moved her gaze around the room landing on each guy as they all were forced to drop a finger. None of them would look at her, and she found it comical that they wouldn't look at each other either.

"So you all knew." It wasn't a question anymore. "Was I just another game? Was this some kind of competition?" Haruhi stood up as she spoke, anger rising. Her hands were clenched into fists at her side. They looked at her then, shocked by her conclusion and unsure how to explain.

"No, Haruhi, that's not-" Tamaki jumped up to explain.

"JUST STOP! No one wanted to talk about it before, right? Well that suits me just fine, because I don''t want to hear it." Haruhi turned and left the room, slamming the door behind her.

"Leave her, Tamaki. She needs some time." Kyoya was right, they all knew, but it didn't make it any easier.

Haruhi was running as soon as the door closed. This had all been a big joke to them and as hard as she tried to understand she couldn't comprehend how they could all be so cruel. What had she done to deserve this? Why would they all take turns being sweet and _kissing her_ and muddling up everything she thought she knew. She had _wanted_ their affection. It took her a long time to figure that out. She wasn't just _allowing_ them to kiss her like she had no power to stop it. She wanted them to. Then _and_ now. How could she ever face them again? When she looked at Kyoya she was pinned to a wall. With Tamaki she could hear the sweet melody he created. She was in Mori's arms if she so much as looked him in the eye, and eating a cookie hadn't been the same since Honey's sleepover. And Hikaru and Kaoru's kisses had only just happened but she already knew it would be just the same. She had to get away from them all.

But Haruhi didn't know where to go. She wanted to go home, but in her haste she'd left all her things in the room with the other hosts. There was no way she was going back in there. The second place she thought of was the Ootori gardens. She would love to get lost among the shrubbery right now, but of course, they weren't at the Ootori residence at the moment.

When Haruhi was no longer sure where she was, she stopped. She'd never been in this wing of the Hitachiin estate before, and wasn't even sure if she was even allowed to be. She chose a door at random and found endless racks of clothes. They were covered in dust, obviously having been either rejects or older styles. Haruhi entered and closed the door behind her. It was dark but Haruhi didn't care as she felt her way along various racks. She was getting lost in them, no longer sure which way the exit was, and that was fine with her. She found a wall and slid down it. Her knees came up to her chest and she buried her head in her arms atop them. There, in a dark room of an unknown part of the Hitachiin's home, where countless outfits were hiding her from view, Haruhi told herself she would not cry. Not for this. Not for them.

It was another lie.


	6. Haruhi Fujioka

The hosts didn't wait long to go searching for their princess. They wanted her to have a minute to herself to hopefully calm down, but they didn't want her to stew in her false perceptions. However, they hadn't counted on her disappearing.

The twins tried calling Haruhi's cell phone, only to find it ringing among her things in their room. They asked members of staff next, but none of them had seen Haruhi pass by. Each of them split up, searching nearby rooms and calling out to her the whole time. Hikaru ordered the staff to search the grounds in case she'd gone outside.

After ten minutes of unsuccessful searching it began to rain. The group reconvened to get updated on the search.

"She's not in any of the nearby rooms or bathrooms," Tamaki said right away.

"She's not in the library or mom's study," Kaoru contributed.

"The den and the parlor are empty," added Mori.

"Not in the kitchen or dining rooms, either," Honey said.

"The staff is still checking the grounds," Hikaru announced. "But I really hope she's not out there, it's really starting to come down." The rain had begun to pound against the roof.

"Well, I don't think she left. All of her stuff is still here so she wouldn't be able to pay for a cab or even unlock her door if she were to make it home." Kyoya's reassurance wasn't as helpful as they had all hoped.

As Kaoru was about to speak up to organize searching the rest of the house, a bolt of lightning lit up the night sky, flashing in their window. They all froze, listening. As if the lightning had summoned it, a boom of thunder hit overhead. It wasn't very loud and ended quickly. Kaoru started to open his mouth again, and another crash of thunder hit. This one was strong enough that they could feel the vibrations from it in the floors.

"Find her, NOW!" Tamaki raced out of the twin's room, followed closely by the others.

There was no organization now. They split up in every direction, some of them going back over the rooms they'd already cleared, wanting to be absolutely sure they hadn't passed over her. They others moved on to other parts of the house. The game room, the living areas, the unused rooms that were mostly for storage; everything was meticulously searched. No cabinet was left unopened, no closet forgotten.

And still, the storm raged outside. Every time they opened a door a flash of lightning would light the room for them. When they tried to yell to one another, thunder kept them from hearing each other. The rain was pounding against the house, seemingly coming from every side, and only hindered their search. If a particularly loud drop hit a window, it would raise their hopes as they rushed across the room, thinking Haruhi had moved, causing the sound. Over and over again they were disappointed, but more importantly, they were panicking. _Where was Haruhi?_

It was Mori, who caught the lucky break. As he opened a door to a room overrun with clothing racks another crack of thunder shook the house, and a quiet squeak came from the far corner. "Haruhi?" There was no response. He flicked the lights on, trying to see past all the clothes. He took a step in, planning on starting his search where he'd heard the squeak, and another bolt of lightning struck, killing the power. Curses rang across the house as they were all plunged into darkness.

Mori slowly made his way forward, trying to feel his way to his intended corner. When the next bolt lit the room he was able to get a better layout of where he needed to go, and sped up as another squeak followed a loud boom. "Haruhi, I'm coming."

The others would want to know she was here, but Mori couldn't yell for them. He couldn't be the source of a loud noise this close to Haruhi and potentially frighten her more. When he reached the far wall he was able to follow along it to the corner he wanted, relieved when he saw the small bundle on the ground that he'd been looking for.

Haruhi's hands were pressing hard over her ears, her whole body trying to bury itself between her knees. Mori knelt down beside her, reaching an arm out to her shoulder. She jumped at his touch, head coming up to see what was happening. Her eyes widened bloodshot, there were obvious tear tracks on her cheeks. It made Mori feel horrible. This was _their_ fault. All of them.

Haruhi tried to say something, demand he leave her alone, but another strike of lightning and boom of thunder had her closing herself back off from the world.

"It's going to be okay, Haruhi. I'm going to take you back to everyone, okay?" He reached down to pick her up and she started shaking her head violently. She didn't want to be with them right now. "It's going to be okay, Haruhi," Mori repeated, picking her up despite her silent protest.

She had planned on fighting him, but then she was cradled against his chest, and his scent surrounded her. His earthy aroma was so strong here in his arms, it confused her. She loved that smell, but she hated all of them right now. She wanted to keep breathing him in, but she couldn't handle being in this position right now. Why was he always the one picking her up like this?

Another crack of thunder had her burrowing her head into his chest. She couldn't be mad now, she was too busy being scared. His scent helped, so Haruhi focused on breathing. Earth in, fear out; Mori in, thunder out.

Mori had started making his way back to the door as she clutched at his chest. He was glad when Kyoya appeared in the doorway. There was only a silhouette, but Mori knew his friends. "Call the others," he ordered softly, trying not to hurt Haruhi anymore than they already had tonight. "I've got her."

Kyoya pulled out his cell phone, dialing Kaoru's number first. He made quick work of telling the others, and they were all rushing towards Kyoya's location. Mori appeared from the room, Haruhi safely in his arms and Kyoya breathed a sigh of relief. He had believed Mori, but seeing her for himself was completely different.

Kauro was the first to join them. "Oh god, Haruhi-"

"Not now," Mori cut him off. Kauro nodded his understanding.

"Take her back to my room. I'll find Hikaru and we'll get it set up for her." He ran back the way he came, pulling his cell phone back out.

Honey ran past him, joining the group's slow trek back to Kaoru's room. He didn't say anything, knowing nothing he said right now would help. He would have to be a silent support for the time being.

"Haruhi!" Tamaki called when he was close enough to see them. He placed a hand on her arm, hoping to give comfort, but she jerked away, clenching harder to Mori. Tamaki lowered his hand, sad for how upset and frightened she was.

They walked as a group through the dark house, three of them lighting the way with their cell phones for Mori so he could concentrate on Haruhi. He muttered assurances to her every time more thunder hit, trying to keep her tears at bay.

Hikaru and Kaoru were waiting in their doorway for their friends. They had lit candles, allowing the others to put away their phones. They had transformed their room, creating a blanket fort that spanned most of the available floor space. Kaoru held back a flap, showing Mori the entrance. Mori had to fall down to his knees to enter, and then shuffled along inside. When he came to a pile of pillows he sat and leaned against them, lowering Haruhi to his lap. The others had gathered around quickly, all wanting to do something for her.

"Haruhi? We built a fort to sleep in tonight. All the blankets should help absorb the sound." Kaoru placed a hand on her back only for her to shrug him off. His face fell, not knowing what else to do.

The storm had calmed some, allowing Haruhi to release the death grip she had on Mori's shirt. She had no plan of leaving his lap though, still tensing up as the thunder waned. Her eyes remained closed as she spoke. "I don't need your help."

"We're offering it anyway," Tamaki declared. "We'll always be here for you."

Haruhi scoffed, still not looking at anyone. "Haru-chan the storm seems to be settling down. Do you want to get out of Takashi's lap? There's plenty of room." Honey tried to grab her hand but she pulled it away vehemently, eyes finally springing open to glare at anyone in her line of sight.

"No," she answered, tensing momentarily as another soft boom of thunder hit in the distance. "I like how he smells. It's calming." Haruhi would have been embarrassed to admit that a few hours ago, but now she didn't care. She was done with the lies and the secrets. "Unless Takashi wants me to move?" She turned to her earthy friend, losing her glare.

Mori had raised his eyebrows at the admittance, then settled into a soft smile as she looked at him. "Stay as long as you like."

Haruhi lay her head against his chest, ignoring the others for now. The rain was still pattering faintly against the windows and there was always the chance of the thunder renewing its efforts. She took deep breaths, letting Mori wash over her.

The others were muttering to each other, about what Haruhi didn't care, but they were starting to get louder. Apparently they were arguing over what course of action to take with her.

"We have to tell her the truth!"

"We need to wait until the weather lets up!"

"No, she needs to know! It might calm her faster to know what's been going on."

"Or it might freak her out more, sending her further into a panic!"

"I'm still right here, guys. If you're going to talk about me you could at least have the decency to ask me what I want. It's the least you can do, after everything," Haruhi broke in. That shut them all up as they looked around guiltily.

"We might be more inclined to hear your opinion if we didn't think you'd bite our heads off for talking to you," Kyoya explained.

That was fair, Haruhi decided. She sat up in Mori's lap, looking at him. "Thank you Takashi. It helped." She turned to face the others. "Not that I needed help." She climbed off his lap, fairly sure she'd heard the last of the thunder tonight. With a quick glance around, Haruhi found a vacant pillow and sat back against it. It was the first time she'd actually seen the fort surrounding them, and she had to admit the twins did a good job. She could see where the edge of the desk and bed were being used to sustain one side of the fort, and mismatched chairs were holding up the rest. Soft blankets lined the floor and colorful pillows took up at least as much room as the hosts. But it was clear to Haruhi that this fort was all wrong. None of her so-called friends was relaxing into the pillows or enjoying the atmosphere set by the candles. Kyoya wasn't warning against the danger of such haphazard placement of said candles, and Honey hadn't brought any sweets into this haven. Hikaru and Kaoru should've been boasting their fort-making prowess, while Tamaki rearranged pillows into a makeshift throne for himself.

Instead, they were tense and sitting forward. There was worry in their eyes, and Haruhi thought she saw fear as well. Her observation conflicted Haruhi. On one hand, she felt angry and betrayed, used and pointless, and she _wanted_ them to be afraid they would lose her. That would mean they actually gave a damn. But on the other hand, she cared about the hosts more than she ever thought she could and hated to see them distraught, especially when she was the cause. When the storm began, she heard their shouts and knew they were looking for her frantically. So of course they cared, no matter how they treated her thus far. She had to hear them out.

Haruhi looked at Kyoya expectantly. "I'm calm." She couldn't promise she would stay that way once they opened their mouths.

The others were looking at each other, trying to decided who or where they should start. Honey decided to jump in, having wanted to be honest from the beginning. "Haru-chan, we want to apologize for what we've done. We never wanted to hurt your feelings, and we certainly weren't playing a game. You didn't give us a chance to explain."

Tamaki took over. "After Honey kissed you at his sleepover, the rest of us got kind of, well, jealous. We thought, 'Why should Honey-senpai get to kiss Haruhi and not us?'"

"We all wanted to see what it was like," Mori explained.

"So you threw sleepovers and each conspired to get me alone so you could have your way with me?" Haruhi questioned.

"No! It wasn't like that!" Kaoru was quick to defend their actions. "You can't actually believe that we would just 'have our way with you!' We agreed it would just be a kiss."

" _You_ agreed. What about me? Shouldn't I have had a say in who was kissing me? You're supposed to be my _friends!_ My best friends." Haruhi paused to keep herself from crying. "And so much for 'just a kiss.'"

They looked ashamed of themselves, but Hikaru bounced back first. "We _are_ your friends. Always, Haruhi. But we like you as more than a friend. We hoped our actions would make you want something more with one of us. Maybe a stolen kiss would make you realize your feelings."

"You know what else would've worked? Fucking talking to me! You could've manned up and just _asked_ me if I felt the same! I mean, you wouldn't even bring it up after you got what you wanted. I thought I was going crazy some days! I thought I was imagining it! What other explanation is there when someone kisses you and then acts like it didn't even happen?" She felt so frustrated. A few angry tears spilled over onto her face, and she let them roll down her cheeks. Haruhi wanted them to feel bad after all.

"We see now that was a mistake, Haruhi. We thought you wouldn't want us to bring it up," Tamaki looked like it pained him to make her cry.

"And it was supposed to be just a kiss." Kyoya looked down, guiltily. "A simple kiss isn't a big deal. Some of us got a little carried away. You really don't know how enticing you are, Haruhi."

"Did you ever think maybe I didn't want that kind of attention from you guys? Maybe I don't want to be enticing!"

"Your actions said something different," Kaoru whispered.

Honey nodded. "Haru-chan you thought my kiss was a joke at first right? But even so you still reached for me that night. You _wanted_ me next to you."

"What? I-"

"I intended to stay and play piano for just a second, and you chose to stay of your own accord," Tamaki interrupted. " _You_ sat by _me_ on the piano bench and told me that a challenge was worth the ending." 

"I didn't mean-"

"When I kissed you, you pulled yourself more into it. Later, you snuggled into my pillow." Haruhi couldn't voice an objection to Mori's observance. He wasn't wrong.

"You sought me out both times Haruhi," Kyoya continued. "You knew where I'd be in the gardens and you came to find me alone. You wanted to win the scavenger hunt, and came right up to me in the end."

"You dug your hands into my chest, and you enjoyed my bite. You wanted more, Haruhi, I know you did," Hikaru explained his case.

"You wrapped your arms around my neck to pull yourself closer. You couldn't get enough," Kaoru finished.

"You can't say you don't want the attention, Haru-chan. Maybe you didn't at first, but you do now."

Haruhi took a deep breath, not wanting to confirm or deny their statements. "It's not for you, _any_ of you, to decide what _I_ want." She tried bringing back the calm she'd felt in Mori's arms, not wanting to yell anymore. " _I_ haven't even figured out what I want yet, so who are you to say I wanted _that_."

"We're not trying to decide for you!" Tamaki said, feeling like Haruhi wasn't listening. "We did this to help _you_ decide!"

"Not that we need you to right now," Kaoru jumped in. "You can take your time. We just wanted you to know."

Haruhi shook her head in disbelief. "I never knew you were all so selfish. Everything was fine before all of this. Why couldn't you just leave it alone?" She sounded tired when she spoke. "What's supposed to happen now? You want me to pick one of you, and what? You expect we'll all remain great friends, the host club will continue as always, and nothing will change? But nothing can be the same now."

"We've all agreed to stay friends, whoever you choose," Mori reassured.

She looked to Mori beside her, surprised he'd buy into this delusion. "You'll stay friends? How naive." Haruhi decided to be cruel. Maybe it would help them see. She stood at a crouch in the fort and made her way to Kyoya. She surprised him by straddled his lap and then looked to the Host club's king. "Tamaki, can you honestly say it won't bother you if I pick Kyoya?" She looked back to Kyoya, grabbing his hand and placing them on her hips, then running one of her own hands through his hair. "You'll still want to be his friend knowing that I let him run his hands all over me? Knowing that he's the one kissing me, and not you? Knowing that I want _him_ , and not you?" She leaned down and kissed Kyoya softly before pulling away. Kyoya's eyes went wide staring at Haruhi, but a quick glance around confirmed for her that none of them could watch her display.

She rose off Kyoya, returning to her pillow by Mori. "You can't even look at him! None of you! How can you stay friends with someone you can't talk to or joke with?."

Tamaki looked up at her, face tightened by his resolve to make this work. "We'll figure it out. Maybe it'll be weird at first, but this won't come between us."

Haruhi scoffed, shaking her head again. "Fine, let's say your friendships conquer all, and that Hikaru wouldn't completely hate his brother if I picked Kaoru. You're still all forgetting something." She looked around again, waiting for someone to figure it out. "What about _me_!" She was getting mad again. "You guys did this to open my eyes or whatever bullshit you've been telling yourselves, and at every turn you didn't bother to care how it was affecting _me!_ "

"Of course we care, Haru-chan!"

"You're blind then," Haruhi corrected. " _You_ wanted to take turns kissing me. _You_ wanted for me to decide between you all. _You_ made a pact to stay friends. _I_ wasn't part of any of that. _I_ didn't get to make that vow, and I don't think that I could."

"What are you saying, Haruhi," Kyoya asked for them all.

"I'm saying, maybe you were right, that in the end I enjoyed the rendez-vous." They were listening more intently now, excited that she had admitted what they already knew. "Maybe I like being in Mori's arms, or having Hikaru bite my neck, but now that's all I see. Kaoru, I look at you and I can _feel_ my body pressed against yours and your hands running down my sides. How can I remain friends with someone I've shared these experiences with after I pick someone else? How can I make out with Mitskuni if I pick him, and then try to have a conversation with Takashi all while picturing myself in his arms, pulling myself more into our kiss?"

They were looking down again, finally understanding what she was going on about. "I can't. If I pick one of you, I loose the other five. But hey, at least _you_ will all stay friends." Haruhi turned away from them, not knowing what else she could say.

"I'm sorry Haruhi, we didn't think-" Tamaki was quickly cut off as Haruhi whipped back around.

"No, you didn't think. Like I said, selfish." She had thought of more to say, more they hadn't considered. "And if I choose none of you? I'd have to say goodbye to the host club. I hope my kisses were worth my friendship."

"No, Haruhi, that's not-"

"I'm not finished!" Haruhi was yelling again, cutting Hikaru off. She closed her eyes for a second, taking another deep breath. She needed to say the last thing on her mind. The last thing they hadn't considered. "And what if I'm sick and twisted and didn't want just one of you?" Hikaru and Kaoru shared a look, Tamaki and Honey's eyes went wide, Kyoya and Mori's narrowed. "What if I wanted _all_ of you?" She met each of their eyes, hoping they saw the real possibility she posed.

There was silence following her question as they all thought about it.

"Is that want you want?" Mori asked. "You want all of us?"

Haruhi didn't answer, continuing to watch as the others shared looks or stared at nothing.

"Well, Hikaru and I have always shared with each other. We could maybe share with other people too. Even if it was a person being shared." Hikaru nodded his agreement with his brother.

"If it meant I could have you, Haru-chan, I'd be okay with others having you as well." Honey's face was so honest as he looked at her.

"Yes," Mori agreed simply.

"I suppose we could make that work, if it's what you wanted Haruhi." Kyoya was already thinking of schedules and assigned days to determine who Haruhi spent time with.

Tamaki was the only one who hadn't answered her question. He made his way through the fort so he could sit on his knees in front of her. He took each of her hands in his and looked into her eyes. "Is that what you want, Haruhi? Do you want all of us?" His eyes pleaded with hers for an answer.

"Maybe," she answered, not wanting to give a definitive answer until Tamaki gave his.

He leaned forward to kiss Haruhi for the second time in his life. She returned the kiss, closing her eyes and leaning into Tamaki. He pulled back, smiling. "I would be willing to share."

Haruhi glanced around to see the others looking at her. They had watched her and Tamaki, despite their inability to watch her and Kyoya before. It bode well that they were already accepting this and each getting used to the idea of seeing her with the others.

Tamaki backed away from Haruhi, wanting her to have space to think. She looked at the ground, smiling, as more tears made it past her eyelids. When she looked up, the others were concerned, afraid they'd upset her again. "I want all of you."

Concern and worry turned to grins.

"Haruhi!" Hikaru and Kaoru tackled her to the ground. "Our house so still our turn!" Hugging her on either side and making her laugh for the first time in what seemed like forever, Haruhi felt a shift in the atmosphere. The fort felt like home.


End file.
